Healthcare and Social Assistance is the most targeted sector for cybercrime, representing 17% of all incidents in 2024. With sensitive patient data, legacy infrastructure, and growing digital interfaces, it faces a unique blend of threats — and the stakes are life-or-death.
In this post, we break down the key cybersecurity challenges facing healthcare providers and then explore how a Risk to Resilience approach provides the protection and operational continuity the industry demands.
1. Web and API Vulnerabilities
Healthcare organizations rely heavily on web portals and APIs for patient records, scheduling, billing, and telehealth. However, these public-facing systems often introduce critical risks:
- 21% of critical infrastructure breaches are caused by vulnerabilities in public-facing applications or misconfigured APIs.
- Phishing via healthcare web interfaces makes up 23% of all incidents, used to steal credentials or drop malware payloads.
2. Expanding External Attack Surfaces
The use of connected medical devices, IoT systems, and third-party vendors has dramatically increased the healthcare attack surface:
- 82% of healthcare vulnerabilities are exploitable over the network.
- Ransomware is the dominant threat, used in 71% of extortion cases, often leading to operational shutdowns and data loss.
3. Identity Exposures and Insider Threats
Stolen credentials and weak access controls remain a top entry point for attackers:
- Credential compromise is a leading cause of healthcare breaches, often via phishing or MFA-bypass tactics.
- Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) attacks bypass MFA in 75% of BEC cases, enabling unauthorized access.
- Insider threats (46% inadvertent, 25% malicious) remain a persistent concern, with staff unintentionally or intentionally exposing systems.
4. Legacy Infrastructure and Network Weaknesses
Many healthcare providers still operate legacy infrastructure, exposing outdated software and unsupported systems to modern threats:
- Unpatched systems are often targeted within hours of CVE disclosure.
- The growing OT-IT convergence — connecting medical devices to IT networks — increases risk of lateral movement and cross-domain attacks.
5. Cloud Misconfigurations and Threats
As cloud adoption accelerates across healthcare, so do configuration errors and infrastructure abuse:
- Misconfigured cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3 buckets) has become a leading cause of PHI exposure.
- Attackers are increasingly targeting cloud environments to deploy ransomware or exfiltrate sensitive data.
How Risk to Resilience Solves These Challenges
The Risk to Resilience service is designed specifically to meet the cybersecurity needs of healthcare providers, protecting critical data, minimising downtime, and reducing the likelihood of breaches across identity, infrastructure, and cloud layers.
Threat Exposure and Vulnerability Remediation
- Identifies exploitable vulnerabilities in public-facing applications, APIs, and internal infrastructure
- Performs adversary simulations across web, API, and ransomware vectors
- Prioritises and remediates medium-to-critical vulnerabilities to reduce real-world risk
Identity Exposure Management
- Detects stolen credentials and session tokens on the dark web
- Enforces strong MFA (e.g., FIDO2, biometric) and auto-revokes compromised accounts
- Harden Active Directory and Entra ID by fixing over-privileged accounts and misconfigurations
Attack Surface Management
- Continuously monitors internet-facing assets, IoT devices, and third-party risk exposure
- Maps shadow infrastructure and unknown endpoints contributing to the expanding attack surface
Healthcare-Specific Incident Response
- Restores access to EHR and business-critical systems post-attack
- Maintains immutable backups and rollback procedures to avoid ransom payments
- Delivers a rapid recovery strategy aligned with patient safety goals
Executive Reporting and Compliance Alignment
- Maps security findings to ISO 27001, NIST or ISM frameworks
- Provides actionable executive reports and board-level compliance dashboards
Final Thoughts
Cyber threats in healthcare aren’t just about data loss — they affect patient safety, care delivery, and trust. A traditional IT security posture is no longer enough.
With Risk to Resilience, healthcare organisations can proactively reduce exposure, prevent operational disruptions, and accelerate recovery — ensuring both cyber safety and patient care go hand-in-hand.
Want to see how Risk to Resilience applies to your environment?
Let’s schedule a walkthrough of your exposure and remediation roadmap.
