A good chat with a mate down the pub, we’d inevitably cross paths with the topics of health, technology and cybersecurity. Let’s talk about one of the most concerning issues we are facing right now, the increasing cyber threats in the healthcare industry. A bunch of smart folks have put their heads together and think we need a bit more sophisticated security measures, and I do believe they’re onto something!
Have you heard about the sharp rise – a staggering 167% I tell you – of advanced email attacks aimed at the healthcare sector, all within this year of 2023? It’s a bit like sneaking a peek at the final scores before the footie match ends, but the trend is clear and rather unsettling, if you’d ask me. What’s worse, this increase isn’t just your run-of-the-mill attacks; it comprises BEC, credential phishing, malware, extortion – you name it.
Let’s dive a bit into BEC, or business email compromise if you’re into the whole verbose thing. You know those pesky flies that, while are smaller in comparison to other bugs, bite worse than any other? BEC is a bit like that. It doesn’t make up a tonne of email attacks, but let me tell you, they’re probably the most dangerous thing to slide into your inbox. The reason? Money, or rather the loss of it! On average, we’re talking about $125,000 per attack! Makes that few quid you spent on ale last night seem a bit insignificant, doesn’t it?
And here’s what really takes the biscuit – BEC attacks are tricky as all get out to identify and stop. We’re essentially hunting phantoms here! Mostly text-based, they often come from legitimate domains and rarely carry the usual signs you’d expect of a cyber attack. No suspicious links or dodgy attachments, just plain old text. Often, they don’t even want money straight away. They’re simply probing for information, prying into your business before launching into a full-blown attack. Proper cunning, isn’t it?
So, that’s the dire situation we’re in, folks. A digital Dickensian nightmare! Don’t mean to scare the living daylights out of you, but this is something worth staying alert to. If you’re in the healthcare sector, or simply care about your digital security (and who doesn’t?), it’s high time we took these cybersecurity threats a bit more seriously. We need to be smarter, and we need to act sooner. After all, no one wants their hard-earned quid to fall into the wrong hands, right? So, chin up, eyes open, and let’s prepare ourselves for this new digital battlefield.
by Parker Bytes
