If cybersecurity worries keep you up at night, you’re not paranoid. It’s a legitimate area of concern for healthcare leaders, who watch the growing risks with reasonable alarm. Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report examined over 22,000 incidents that took place during the year, including a record 12,195 confirmed data breaches.Â
While cybercrime poses a risk to all types of organizations, healthcare has become a primary target for cybercriminals, with ransomware operators increasingly targeting healthcare organizations. You’ve no doubt read about high-profile attacks on familiar brands, but how much do you know about hackers’ methods and motives? Understanding the biggest risks to your industry can help healthcare execs identify and mitigate these growing risks.
Top 5 Cybersecurity Risks for the Healthcare Sector
With its rich troves of sensitive data, healthcare makes an enticing target for ransomware operators and other criminals who traffic and monetize this private information. Cybercrooks profit by demanding lucrative ransoms and selling data on the dark web, but that’s not the only motive. Some hackers are simply in it for the chaos factor: They enjoy wreaking havoc on the organization and bringing normal operations to a halt.
Unlike most other crimes, with ransomware, you’ll probably never see your attackers coming. How do they do it? These five techniques are the most common ways that bad actors gain access, which enables them to hurt your organization and everyone associated with it.
1. Vulnerability Exploitation.
Of all the ways ransomware can get into your system and affect your organization, exploitation of existing vulnerabilities is now the most common entry point. It’s involved in 20% of all data breaches, up 34% from the prior year. The lesson for healthcare leaders? Make sure your entire tech stack is still supported and apply patches for known issues as soon as they’re available.
2. Third-party Vulnerability.
Even if your systems and processes are airtight, security gaps at partner and vendor organizations can open the door to hackers. The occurrence of these types of breaches doubled year over year, rising to 30% in Verizon’s 2025 report.
3. Ransomware Evolution.
Ransomware is becoming more sophisticated and was associated in 44% of all breaches in 2025, nearly half. And while leaders may prefer to believe ransomware mostly threatens large enterprises, that’s incorrect. It actually represents a disproportionate threat to smaller healthcare organizations, playing a role in 88% of breaches at small and midsized businesses.
4. Medical Device Vulnerability.
The rapid increase in internet-enabled medical devices has been a boon not just for patients, but for hackers as well. Whether you call it the Internet of Things or the Internet of Medical Technology, these connected devices often function as an unlocked back door that invites hackers in. For anything that comes with internet connectivity, be sure you understand how to secure access and limit who can get in.
5. Identity Gaps.
Abuse of credentials remains the number one access vector across sectors and sizes. It can happen for a variety of reasons, but one frequent entry point may surprise you: Unmanaged devices allowed under an organization’s bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy typically don’t have the robust security that your data deserves.
The Costs of Inaction
From financial records to protected health information, your organization’s data represents a compelling target for cybercriminals. If it’s stolen, the financial, operational and reputational costs can be devastating. In fact, the total costs of a data breach are higher for healthcare organizations, on average, than they are in any other sector.
Your Mauldin & Jenkins advisor has actionable insights and strategies that can reduce the risk of ransomware, other cyberthreats, and real-world risks that can derail your progress and set your organization back for years. Reach out today and discover how we can help.
