by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – CYBER criminals are bypassing code of ethics with concerted attacks on the world’s healthcare sector.
The sector is beset by underfunding, lack of skills and fragmented infrastructure.
“There was a time when cybercriminals held off from attacking the world’s healthcare institutions for reasons of ethics. But no more,” said Shayimamba Conco, Cyber Security Expert at Check Point Software Technologies.
It is a global leader in cyber security solutions.
Conco commented ahead of World Health Day, marked on April 7.
During the first three months of this year, Check Point has reported that the healthcare and medical industry experienced an average of 2 309 weekly attack attempts per organisation.
This is an increase of 39 percent compared to the same timeframe last year.
Figures issued in a separate Check Point Threat Intelligence Report over the last six months show that a South African healthcare organisation is attacked on average 1 626 times per week.
Conco said the Federal Bureau of Investigations and International Criminal Police Organisation had warned for years that threat actors view hospitals and healthcare providers as prime extortion targets.
“The critical nature of healthcare makes it a prime target—where every second of downtime or breach can mean a delay in care, or even worse, a loss of life,” he added.
South Africa’s healthcare needs rapid digitisation to address escalating costs, boost efficiencies as well as prepare for the impending roll out of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
Healthcare non-governmental organisations too have been stung by the recent withdrawal of United States funding.
“The healthcare industry is already a prime target for cyber-attacks, and the USAID withdrawal will further amplify the risks in this sector,” Conco said.
– CAJ News