APAC’s healthcare security in crisis over rising cyberattacks: report

This poses a threat to health information, along with financial and insurance data.

The Asian Pacific (APAC) region’s healthcare sector remains a prime target for cybercrime as it witnesses a surge in ransomware attacks on different institutions, a report by KnowBe4 revealed.

“Emerging health technologies and the use of AI offer great potential to improve healthcare in APAC but the rapid adoption of technology brings cyber risks and challenges,”, KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman, said.

In Australia, 22% of all data breaches from July to December 2023 hailed from healthcare, in contrast to a reported 10% from the financial services sector.

Moreover, a local Singapore healthcare information technology (IT) provider revealed that it intercepts and blocks about 3,000 malicious emails daily.

Furthermore, the provider mentioned that it experienced 1.7 million attempts to breach its internet-facing firewalls every month.

“When attacked, cybercriminals can potentially take control of entire hospital systems, and gain access not only to patients' health information but also their financial and insurance data,” the report said.

Moreover, such attacks can lead to a reduction in patient care, loss of access to electronic systems, and a reliance on incomplete paper records.

On a global scale, the majority of attacks across sectors are observed to begin with phishing and social engineering tactics, allowing cybercriminals to gain access to accounts or servers.

Furthermore, the healthcare sector has witnessed an average breach cost of nearly $11m which is more than three times the global average, with ransomware attacks accounting for over 70% of successful attacks in the past two years.