On its Path Towards Digital Transformation is Healthcare Industry Immune to Cyberattacks?
Today, the healthcare industry is the second largest to be targeted by cybercriminals. While digital transformation across the healthcare industry has helped in ease of data access and profitable business, it is also a fact that moving to the cloud has increased the potential attack surface. With many of these systems not giving importance to adequate security defences, there is an increase in the vulnerability of being attacked and losing data. Investment in the healthcare industry’s cybersecurity is expected to grow as cyberattacks have increased. Between 2020 and 2025, cybersecurity spending by healthcare providers and payers is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% from $4.59bn to $6.77bn.
In the same period, cybersecurity spending by pharma will grow at a slightly lower rate, 7.4%, from $2.1bn to $3bn. Medical device spending will grow at a rate of 7.3% from $869m to $1.2bn. Weak cybersecurity measures expose companies to serious risks. While pharma companies have proprietary scientific data and intellectual property, medical device companies develop connected devices, and healthcare companies collect and utilise patient data. With this, it becomes more than important to have secure systems in place, not just in-house but also in the cloud that is being chosen.
The whole idea of digital transformation is to replace traditional solutions with the latest ones to optimize operational processes and improve the overall experience while reducing costs. Digital transformation in healthcare is making use of the latest technologies, methodologies, and processes to deliver sustainable value to patients, healthcare professionals, and healthcare organizations. According to Statista, spending on digital transformation has already surpassed $1.3 Trillion US dollars worldwide. And the same is growing at a whopping 10.4% year on year.
A few benefits that the healthcare industry is reaping from digital transformation are:
- Reduced Costs
- Optimized Workflow
- Enable Improved Interaction with Patients
- Secure Database for Electronic Medical Records
- More Effective Internal Communication
- Better Time Management
- Improved Healthcare Services
While there are many benefits data security remains a big concern and so the newly advanced blockchain technology is a good solution for tackling the cyber security issue in the cloud especially when it comes to the healthcare industry. According to a recent study by Precision and Strategic Intelligence, the market for blockchain-based healthcare applications is already forecasted to surpass $890 million US dollars by 2023. Blockchain is basically a digital transaction technology that is built upon a decentralized network of computers and is largely adopted in the finance industry.
The following benefits can be achieved from the adoption of blockchain:
- Due to its advanced technology cybersecurity breaches can be prevented.
- Identifying inaccuracies in patients’ health information comes with ease
- Allows patients to access & share their private health data on a secure distributed ledger
(The author is Nikhil Taneja, VP & MD at Radware – India, the Middle East & South Asia and the views expressed in this article are his own)
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