Americans are expressing concern over hacking affecting major infrastructure after a cyberattack shut down the Colonial Pipeline, but not enough is being done to protect healthcare networks from such cyberthreats, writes Peter Roff in an opinion piece in Newsweek.
Their concerns are not idle ones—they exist across vital sectors of the economy. Over the last decade, the health care industry has become increasingly vulnerable to ransomware attacks like the one we’ve just been through in the energy sector. Experts have been raising the alarm but thus far their warning cries have not received the attention they deserve.
That needs to change. Policymakers need to pay attention as these kinds of attacks become more frequent and more expensive. According to a study conducted by Comparitech, in 2020 alone 92 individual ransomware attacks occurred that cost an estimated $20 billion and affected over 600 separate clinics, hospitals and organizations and more than 18 million patient records.
Read more in Newsweek.
