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More than half of healthcare leaders believe a cyber security incident will cause a patient fatality within the next five years.
Ransomware and other cyber attacks can cause massive amounts of business disruption.
This is bad enough when essential business systems go down, as we’ve seen in the ongoing fallout following attacks on major UK retailers and, closer to home, a 2022 attack that is still impacting Fire Rescue Victoria’s operations.
But when lives are on the line, as they often are in the healthcare sector, the impacts of a cyber attack can change lives, and – according to a new report from IT security provider Omega Systems – are very likely to cost them, too.
Omega Systems’ 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report paints a grim picture of a sector under increasing pressure from cyber criminals. Nineteen per cent of healthcare leaders reported having already suffered an attack that disrupted patient care, while 52 per cent believe that a fatality will be the result of a cyber attack within the next five years.
“Healthcare is one of the most frequently targeted industries by cyber criminals – and not surprisingly, given the sensitive data they manage. Unfortunately, growing gaps in cyber risk management are resulting in real-world consequences for patients and major setbacks for organisations,” Mike Fuhrman, CEO of Omega Systems, said in a statement.
“The data shows that although leaders don’t report cyber security as a top challenge, it’s directly impacting their highest priorities – from patient safety to regulatory compliance. This disconnect is a growing risk across the healthcare industry that needs to be addressed with better visibility, readiness, and resources.”
At the core of the matter are priorities. Cyber security ranks last behind combating rising costs, compliance challenges, and securing patient data. Eighty per cent of healthcare organisations polled, however, reported being targeted by at least one cyber attack in the last year. Perhaps more alarming is the fact that a quarter of organisations said that patient data was at risk, while staffing challenges, legacy infrastructure, and manual processes hamper network defence.
“Healthcare teams are under immense pressure, and internal resources alone aren’t enough to stay ahead of today’s threats,” Fuhrman said.
“Leading organisations are leveraging MSSPs to gain a competitive advantage through advanced tools, continuous monitoring, and regulatory expertise for a new level of security. The end result is bottom-line protection in the healthcare sector – from patient safety and reputation, to financial growth and operational resilience.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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