Reports of Healthcare IT Infrastructure Vulnerabilities Surge 341%

Reports of vulnerabilities in healthcare IT infrastructure increased 341 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to a recent study by Bugcrowd. The study, the State of Healthcare Cybersecurity 2019, is based on vulnerability reports submitted by security researchers. “As the healthcare industry continues to move into the digital age, each new technology that provides value to patients, organizations, and caregivers also brings with it unique cybersecurity risks. IT systems, connected medical devices, digital health applications, electronic patient records – the list goes on,” explained Bugcrowd in a blog post. “The industry hosts large swaths of confidential health and patient data, and unfortunately is one of the most targeted, with adversaries eager to find an entry-point into any system,” the blog post added. Across healthcare organizations, more than 12 percent of all vulnerability submissions were classified as Priority 1 (P1), the most critical vulnerabilities.