Cyber breach in Singapore healthcare firms jumped 60% in January-September

Cyberattacks by trojans and hijackers surged by over 80%.

Threat detection in healthcare organizations increased by 60% for the first three quarters of the year compared to 2018, according to a report by malware solutions company Malwarebyte.

Trojans, hijackers and riskware each surged by over 80% from Q2 to Q3.

Healthcare is currently the seventh-most targeted industry by cybercriminals, the report said. An aging infrastructure and low IT budget allocation meant that healthcare institutions are highly risked of attracting cyber breach, said Malwarebyte. Healthcare companies may suffer from exposure of patient data, as well as compromised medical equipment and information. Such consequences found by the research underline the importance of prioritizing cybersecurity in platform design rather than being added as an afterthought.