With cyberattacks on the rise, ambulatory surgery centers must prepare for emerging threats

While cyberattacks happen in all industries, healthcare is hit particularly hard. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, there were 725 significant digital security breaches in healthcare in 2023, surpassing 2022’s 720 breaches.¹

In a recent Ambulatory Surgery Center News Article, Jeremy Carriger, Arcadia’s Chief Information Security Officer, offers insight that healthcare organizations can use to help focus and prioritize their cybersecurity programs.

“Healthcare organizations can address common vulnerabilities and minimize cyber-attack risks by completing an annual risk assessment and augmenting those assessments through regular scans and penetration tests,” Carriger said. “Often, these exercises will help you identify technical weaknesses in your program that you should record and track to ensure you’re following up to patch them. Additionally, tabletop exercises — both at the leadership and tactical responder levels — can pressure test your incident response plan and promote awareness and adherence to your plan.”

1. Security Breaches in Healthcare in 2023. The HIPAA Journal.