IDC Survey: Healthcare Needs Broad Approach Versus Cyber Vulnerabilities

A new IDC report has underscored the need for healthcare organizations to pour more investments not just in cyber attack response but also in detection and mitigation, noting that the frequency of a breach will only continue to accelerate.

“For healthcare organizations, it’s not a matter of if they are going to be attacked but when,” Lynne Dunbrack, research vice president of IDC Health Insights, said Tuesday.

“Healthcare cybersecurity strategies need to take a comprehensive approach and include not only react and defend capabilities, but also predict and prevent capabilities to effectively thwart cybercriminals.”

The survey highlights malicious hacking as the most common type of attack reported on the Department of Health and Human Services website, and that healthcare providers have identified security as their top IT priority.

It also suggested that cyber threat actors highly regarding healthcare companies as a “soft target” may be contributing to an increased threat.

IDC said these and other insights on the healthcare poll were derived from findings of the larger 2014 IDC Insights Cross Industry Cyber Threat Survey.