Netskope Report: Infostealers Target Patient Data in Healthcare Sector

Photo:Representative Image

The healthcare sector has been one of the areas most affected by the 2023 mega breaches, which saw over a million records stolen. According to Netskope Threat Labs' latest research report, info stealers were the primary malware and ransomware families used to target the healthcare sector globally.

The report also highlights a continued increase in cloud app adoption in the healthcare sector and malware trends across the industry. Infostealers, in particular, are a significant malware family that targets the healthcare industry, stealing valuable data from organizations and patients to further blackmail or ransom the data.

Based on anonymized usage data collected about a subset of Netskope's clients across the globe, the report found that malware downloads in the healthcare sector witnessed a surge in 2023 but decreased during the second half. The healthcare sector ranked slightly below other industries in terms of malware sourced via cloud in the past 12 months, with approximately 40% of total malware downloads behind telecoms, financial services, manufacturing, retail, technology, state and local government, and education.

Moreover, cloud-delivered malware in the sector grew considerably every year, with a 30% rise. However, the report found that cloud apps are increasingly becoming a target for malware, as they allow attackers to evade regular security controls that rely on tools such as domain block lists and web traffic monitoring. The report highlights that companies not applying zero trust principles to routinely inspect cloud traffic are particularly vulnerable to such attacks.

Netskope researchers emphasized that malware and info stealers should not be the only concern for the healthcare sector. They suggested that organizations should also consider the vulnerability of their supply chain and apply a zero-trust strategy to avoid being targeted by malware attacks.