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    1 day ago

    While health care has become the primary target for cybercriminals in recent years, putting lives at risk, the sector paradoxically invests less in cybersecurity than any other industry, leaving high-value data vulnerable to attack.

    For cybercriminals, targeting health data “is a perfect business plan,” said Christos Xenakis, professor at the department of digital systems at the University of Piraeus, Greece. “It’s easy to steal data, and what you steal, you can sell it at a high price.”

    However, other types of cyberattacks are also on the rise, including those by pro-Russian hacktivists aiming to disrupt health care operations, rather than for profit.

    While the risks are clear, national governments are skimping on prevention, Xenakis believes, saying that he has no good example of a country “that has invested a lot in cybersecurity in the health sector.”

    Magalini also pointed out another shortcoming: cybersecurity consultancies that assist hospitals often originate from outside Europe. “They are either from the United States or Canada … also from Russia,” she said, adding that there should be a “European way of doing cybersecurity.”