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This significant attack highlights why defences in this industry must be robust. Patient data is very valuable to hackers, with the stolen information often used to commit further crimes, like identity theft and we simply can’t afford to keep letting the bad guys gain access to critical systems. Health data is incredibly important to people, and is far more ‘personal’ than other information. In addition, restricting access to machines following an incident can negatively impact ongoing patient care.

To meet the challenge of securing the increasing amount of data generated and shared across healthcare networks, organisations need to take a proactive stance with regard to cybersecurity. Firstly, the sector should work together in a collaborative fashion to identify and address existing vulnerabilities. Additionally, staff training to recognise threats should be high on the list to enable people to recognise attacks. Finally, as attackers constantly develop and deploy new technologies to help them access private data, so healthcare organisations should improve their cybersecurity arsenal with the best technology to keep them safe. Smart capabilities, such as machine learning, can be used to intelligently deliver threat protection and help detect and stop attacks, particularly on a large scale. A combination of an intelligent and well defined approach to security and making use of the latest defence technologies can go a long way to helping keeping patient data safe.