Hospitals Have No Excuse for Poor Cybersecurity

Healthcare organizations face a critical need to elevate cybersecurity from a technical checklist to a core strategic function, directly impacting patient safety and operational continuity. A recent industry survey reveals that while most healthcare executives acknowledge cybersecurity’s importance, significant gaps persist between intention and implementation, leaving systems vulnerable to disruptions in care.

Viewing cybersecurity as a business driver rather than a compliance obligation is essential for overcoming operational hurdles. An overwhelming majority of leaders agree that integrating cyber initiatives into business strategy helps navigate challenges, yet budget constraints and competing priorities frequently stall progress. Although a high percentage of executives possess the authority to allocate funds, many still report moderate to severe security incidents, indicating that financial commitment often wavers when pressed. To bridge this divide, cybersecurity must be directly tied to measurable outcomes like minimized downtime, enhanced patient safety, and financial health, positioning it as a fundamental enabler of healthcare services.

In terms of financial planning, Identity and Access Management (IAM) stands out as the leading investment priority for the coming year. Persistent issues such as stolen credentials, weak verification processes, and over-provisioned accounts have pushed organizations to scrutinize privileged accounts and non-human identities, including automated systems and bots. Implementing real-time detection, robust authentication protocols, and continuous monitoring is becoming non-negotiable. Multi-factor authentication and thorough lifecycle controls are particularly vital for securing patient portals and ensuring that clinicians can access systems safely and efficiently.

The expansion of healthcare beyond traditional settings introduces both opportunity and risk. Innovations in remote patient monitoring, AI-assisted diagnostics, and wearable health devices depend entirely on secure and seamless data exchange. Notably, cybersecurity teams are credited with contributing a significant portion of the value from large-scale enterprise projects. For health systems pursuing geographic growth or digital integration, robust cyber capabilities must be treated as essential infrastructure. Linking security efforts to strategic initiatives, such as AI operations or virtual care platforms, can transform its perception from a mere expense to a crucial value creator that safeguards both data and uninterrupted patient care.

Developing a skilled and sustainable cybersecurity workforce remains another pressing issue. While over half of the surveyed executives recognize that training and upskilling staff are effective in addressing cyber threats, investment often skews toward technology tools rather than personnel. Human expertise remains irreplaceable for validating alerts and managing incident response. To cultivate this talent, healthcare leaders should establish internal training programs, create cross-functional engineering roles, and forge partnerships with managed security providers. Strengthening the workforce ensures that cybersecurity investments deliver their full potential in protecting patient care and reinforcing system resilience.

Compliance demands continue to consume resources that could otherwise be directed toward proactive risk reduction. Many cyber executives report that regulatory workloads distract from meaningful security improvements, noting that compliance frameworks often lag behind the pace of cyber threats. This misalignment traps organizations in cycles of audits and documentation without necessarily enhancing their security posture. Aligning compliance activities with strategic risk management, by harmonizing overlapping regulatory and contractual obligations, can reduce complexity and free up resources. Additionally, legal barriers often inhibit the sharing of breach insights that could benefit the wider healthcare community. Improved collaboration among board members, regulators, and industry leaders would foster a shared understanding of risk and bolster collective resilience.

Third-party and supply chain vulnerabilities represent a growing and often underestimated danger. A considerable number of serious security incidents in healthcare originate through vendors or subcontractors supporting clinical, administrative, and technical functions. These partners have become attractive targets for attackers. Enforcing cybersecurity standards in vendor contracts is reported as a primary challenge, accompanied by regulatory concerns related to third-party security. Despite these threats, only a small fraction of executives rank vendor and supply chain risks among their top strategic considerations for the year. This disconnect leaves organizations exposed; even when a breach originates with a supplier, the healthcare provider bears ultimate responsibility for assessing the impact and maintaining continuous patient care.

(Source: HelpNet Security)