Blog by Health-ISAC VP of Medical Device Security, Phil Englert
Rural hospitals face unique challenges, including financial constraints and staffing shortages.
Between 2010 and 2021, 136 rural hospitals closed, with a Crisis in Rural Healthcare report stating 600 more of the remaining 1,796 are at risk of closing.
HealthIT Security.com reports that “Cyberattacks are pivoting to target smaller health care companies and specialty clinics without the resources to protect themselves, instead of larger health systems that – despite being treasure troves of personal and medical data – generally have more sophisticated security.” Most smaller hospitals are connected to larger systems becoming the “path of least resistance” into those larger health care networks increasing risk on a national level.
