The question facing hospital cybersecurity leaders today is no longer whether they will be collateral damage in a broader war;
it’s how to reckon with adversaries who will target healthcare for ideological or political reasons — hackers may not have any particular interest in quick resolutions.
In March, a major cyberattack hit Stryker, one of the world’s largest medical technology companies. The group that claimed responsibility, Handala, is linked to Iran, and the hackers were explicit about their reasoning: the attack was retaliation for U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets. A healthcare company was chosen deliberately as a target in an active military conflict.
That simple motivation is what makes this incident worth pondering. State-linked cyberattacks are nothing new, and healthcare has been in their crosshairs before. What has changed, however, is the sheer brazenness of it.
The question facing hospital cybersecurity leaders today is no longer whether they will be collateral damage in a broader war; it’s how to reckon with adversaries who will target healthcare for ideological or political reasons — hackers may not have any particular interest in quick resolutions.
Read the article in the July issue of Med City News. Read More
