When it comes to pharmaceutical cybersecurity, the consequences can be staggering. While most industries have advanced cybersecurity measures, the pharmaceutical sector lags. As a result, these breaches can harm brand image, reputation, and share prices. In this article, we’ll discuss a few examples of recent violations and how to stay ahead of the game. Ultimately, this article will help you create an action plan to protect your company’s assets. You can also learn more about the five pharma cybersecurity breaches to know and learn from if you wish to understand more of this.
Ransomware attacks
The pharma industry is a prime target for ransomware attacks, as the sector controls vast amounts of personal health data. A complete medical record can be worth upwards of $1,000, making it ten times more valuable than a person’s social security number or credit card information. The recent NotPetya ransomware attack disrupted global operations and resulted in a massive insurance claim. This attack is the latest in a long line targeting the pharma industry.
A new report from Black Kite has revealed that one in ten global pharmaceutical companies is at a high risk of a ransomware attack. The study evaluated the cybersecurity posture of 200 leading pharmaceutical companies and their associated third-party vendors. A lack of budget for cybersecurity is one of the primary contributing factors to the risk. Additionally, ineffective patch management and credential management are among the common security challenges facing pharma companies.
Phishing attacks
In addition to GDPR, the healthcare industry carries sensitive and private data, which has made preventing Phishing attacks an urgent priority. Moreover, strict privacy guidelines are becoming commonplace, making the pharma cybersecurity landscape especially vulnerable. To ensure that no data or information in the healthcare industry falls into the wrong hands, organizations should adopt best practices to protect themselves and their customers. Phishing attacks are also a significant threat to the supply chain, which is why organizations must develop effective cybersecurity strategies.
In a recent report, Constella uncovered 9,830 leaks and breaches in the top 20 pharma companies, including J&J, Merck, Pfizer, and more. In 2017, Merck was the victim of a ransomware attack called NotPetya, which severely crippled its production of Gardasil 9, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. In addition, cyber-risks in pharma cybersecurity have grown as malware attacks have become more sophisticated and widespread, showing just how important healthcare cybersecurity solutions are.
Cloud permissions gap
The pharmaceutical industry faces many challenges when it comes to cybersecurity. The healthcare industry is a high-stakes intellectual property industry, and the Covid-19 vaccine has recently attracted the attention of cybercriminals. However, pharmaceutical organizations must focus on a more fundamental problem: the cloud permissions gap. This growing attack surface presents significant security risks, which can have catastrophic results if not appropriately addressed. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies must prioritize proper permission management to protect their critical assets and intellectual property.
In the past, most organizations have used point security solutions and “bolted them on” to solve cybersecurity challenges. Today, organizations need integrated solutions that enable them to be flexible and agile. In addition, with today’s rapidly growing hybrid and multi-cloud environments, it’s essential to ensure that identities only have the permissions they need to perform their job functions. A recent survey by CloudKnox found that 95% of identities accessing AWS infrastructure have less than 2% of the permissions they’ve been granted. As a result, 40% of AWS roles are inactive.
