Cyber attacks on Indian healthcare industry second highest in the world: CloudSEK

According to the firm, technological advancement in the healthcare industry provided cyber criminals with more opportunities to attack the sector

According to the firm, technological advancement in the healthcare industry provided cyber criminals with more opportunities to attack the sector | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The number of cyber attacks on the Indian healthcare industry were second highest globally, with 7.7 % of total incidence on the segment being witnessed in the country in 2021, cyber security intelligence firm CloudSEK said on Tuesday.

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According to CloudSEK report on "Increased cyber attacks on the global healthcare sector", the U.S. healthcare industry faced 28% of the total global attacks.

"India recorded the second highest number of attacks, with a total of 7.7 % of the total attacks on the healthcare industry in 2021," the report said.

The 7.7 % of cyber attack incidence on the Indian healthcare industry translates into over 71 lakh records, according to the report.

CloudSEK is among the entities that provides cyber threat intelligence to Indian cyber security watchdog CERT-In.

According to the firm, the technological advancement in the healthcare industry like remote health monitoring, electronic health records and the Internet of Things (IoT) provided cyber criminals with more opportunities to attack the sector.

The data collated by CloudSEK shows that there have already been 1.87 lakh records in the first four months of 2022.

The dynamics of attack seem to have changed in 2022 at global level. Australia has been the most-hit country with around 70 crore records followed by Thailand which has faced over 10 crore records in the first four months of 2022, according to the report.