Theft and sale of patient information or hijacking of equipment may be the consequences of a cyber-attack on a hospital

• S2 Group has ensured that the health sector is currently one of the most critical from the point of view of cybersecurity.
• Currently, beyond the devices used for administrative purposes, monitors, such as respirators and other devices such as medication supply pumps, are connected to the network and a possible action of cybercriminals could sabotage them by putting the health of the patients at risk.

  Valencia, January 24, 2020.- S2 Grupo, a company specialized in cybersecurity and critical systems management, has ensured that the health sector is one of the most affected in recent years in the field of cybersecurity. The aim of cybercriminals is usually economic and their actions can range from a ransomware that disables access to patients' machines, computers, records, etc., to the theft and sale of patient information, among others. “Hospitals represent an important strategic target for cyber-attackers and it is very important that these facilities consider cybersecurity from its earliest stage. The problem lies in the fact that, although security is increasingly taken into account when designing any type of device connected to the network, no system is 100% secure and, even less so, if they are connected to old machines”, explained José Rosell, managing-partner of S2 Grupo. “The machines in a hospital are very expensive, so they cannot be changed at the same rate as the tools used by cybercriminals grow. Therefore, the goal of cybersecurity companies should be to study the communications networks used by them and to look for all the doors through which a cybercriminal could enter and close them”, said Miguel A. Juan, managing-partner of S2 Grupo. Currently, beyond the devices used for administrative purposes, monitors, such as respirators and other devices such as medication supply pumps, are connected to the network and a possible action of cybercriminals could sabotage them, by putting the health of patients at risk. In order to work towards this objective of making hospital environments as secure as possible, S2 Grupo has created an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in its laboratory to define advanced cyber-protection systems that will minimize the action of cybercriminals in the healthcare field. Its aim is to know all the channels through which they can try to infiltrate, in order to ensure them and prevent them from succeeding. Some of the ways that cybercriminals have used to sabotage the health care systems include blocking machines, altering their operation, altering the flow of information so that it cannot be collected correctly, stealing patient information to sell it later, or hijacking equipment in exchange for money.   More information: prensa@s2grupo.es