Hackers and cybercriminals have targeted the healthcare sector for a long time. Among the healthcare industry, hospitals are generally the primary target for hackers, as they generate a lot of money. The hospitals hold very sensitive information of the patients, including credentials and personal data, and the hackers can take advantage of that. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals have received a large number of funds from the government and other agencies to deal with the issue, and the hackers are after the money.
The critical issue is that healthcare IT systems store patient credentials, including banking details, ID, and credit card details. Besides this, information such as patient's HIV details can be exposed, and cybercriminals can exploit for extortion. On the dark web, ID credentials can be sold for very profitable money, so the government and healthcare industry should take extra precautions to stay safe from cyber attacks. In the present pandemic crisis, blackmail has become one of the most common cyberattacks threats. Blackmail is different from ransomware; in the latter, the player holds company data as ransom by encrypting malware. Whereas, while blackmailing, the hacker threatens to expose critical data, unless his demands are met, which is mostly money.
In this scenario, the hospitals don't have any option but to compensate the cybercriminal as revealing patient information is not only dangerous but also against the doctor-patient confidentiality. In the starting phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, hackers across the world didn't target the healthcare industry. It created a false sense of security among the government and experts that the healthcare sector was safe from hackers and cyber attacks. It was all but long when the hackers finally decided to take a toll on cyberattacks on healthcare.
Therefore, the healthcare industry should step-up and create a robust cybersecurity infrastructure that ensures patients' privacy and security. General awareness of cybersecurity among citizens is also essential, especially sensitizing the hospital staff. Most important and the last one, healthcare institutes should team up with cybersecurity agencies that provide protection and security from cyber attacks and hackers.
