As hospitals and health plans bolster their digital defenses against cyberattacks, many remain vulnerable to a new and escalating risk: AI-enabled physical threats, a May 20 report from Black Book Research found.
The report is based on responses from 1,128 cybersecurity decision-makers across healthcare providers and payers worldwide. It highlights a widening gap between awareness of AI risks and operational readiness to address them.
Here are four key findings from the report:
- Ninety-three percent of cybersecurity leaders said their digital protections are adequate, but only 18% had a strategy to mitigate AI-driven physical threats.
- Seventy-one percent of hospital executives said their physical security systems are not prepared to counter deepfake badges or sensor spoofing.
- Sixty-seven percent of payer organizations with physical offices or hybrid call centers were unaware that AI voice cloning could bypass IVR authentication or in-person verification.
- Eighty-two percent of all respondents said they had not conducted a cyber-physical risk audit in the past year.
