A direct attack on U.S. healthcare organizations is more likely if more countries get involved in the war in Ukraine, or if sanctions cripple Russia, experts told Politico.
U.S. officials have issued repeated warnings that U.S. industries, including the healthcare industry, could be targets of Russian-backed hackers in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
“If NATO gets involved, or if somehow the U.S. gets involved, that’s going to change the whole dynamic,” Mac McMillan, CEO of cybersecurity firm CynergisTek told Politico. “Russia is being careful not to do anything overtly to the United States at the moment.”
The U.S. healthcare industry has become a popular target for hackers as it contains a plethora of vulnerable information that can be used to leverage ransom demands from healthcare providers.
In 2021, nearly 50 million Americans had their protected health information breached, which is triple the number reported in 2018.
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