The threat of cyber attacks has been growing in recent years, and healthcare systems represent a prime target for cybercrime because of many vulnerabilities and methods of attack. To address the challenges in healthcare cybersecurity, it becomes imperative to identify 1) the various entities that pose threats to cybersecurity in healthcare and 2) ways to handle them. Through a rigorous review of 62 articles, information was distilled regarding the categorization and nature of cyber threats in healthcare. Particularly, the threats were partitioned into three categories: cybersquatting threats (e.g. hackers, malware), insider threats, and failure of physical technological devices. As the patient data is extremely critical for proper care from provider organizations, the highest level threats include masquerade attacks, data injection attacks, ransomware, and denial of service attacks that can “obtain sensitive information and delete or modify health related information” or lead to incorrect diagnoses that could potentially harm patients. Threats from social engineering can also lead to dangerous breaches in security. As technology becomes further embedded into the fabric of health care, new cybersecurity technologies will develop and address many of the challenges outlined.
