Confronting Heightened Cybersecurity Threats Amid COVID-19

Did you know that Americans’ private health data is estimated to be worth up to 20 times the value of financial data on the Dark Web? This makes the Health and Public Health (HPH) Sector a primary target for cybercriminals. When an HPH Sector entity is affected by a cyber event, the public may lose its ability to engage with or receive health services, putting lives at risk.  The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the stakes, increasing cyber risk in the HPH Sector in proportion to the increased pace of activity amid widespread transition to remote work environments.

The HPH Sector has been significantly impacted due to both existing cybersecurity challenges and those brought on by COVID-19. Resource constraints paired with the complex architecture of both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) hindered HPH entities’ response and recovery efforts.