Almost weekly, we see headlines about cyber incidents disrupting patient care, compromising patient privacy, or both. The growing interconnectedness of the healthcare ecosystem, combined with heavy reliance on third-party providers, is amplifying the impact of these incidents. This interconnectedness is not only expanding the attack surface but also increasing vulnerabilities across the entire sector, as seen in recent high-profile attacks on UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare and Ascension. The increasing complexity of these networks has also underscored the failure to implement a robust zero-trust strategy, further exposing the sector to cyber threats.
One major theme appears repeatedly as to why threat actors have been able to cause harm to healthcare organizations so regularly: complexity. Here are key factors that drive healthcare security complexity and the role of network traffic analysis and user and entity behavior analytics in reducing complexity and risk.
Complexity: The Root of Healthcare’s Cybersecurity Challenge
To effectively address the cybersecurity challenges facing healthcare, it’s crucial to understand the key factors driving this complexity:
Diverse and Dynamic IT Environments
Healthcare IT infrastructure includes a combination of specialized devices, on-premises networks and applications, and cloud services, each with their own risk profiles and security logging approaches. This diversity creates a complex tapestry of identities that can become points of attack and makes it challenging to maintain a comprehensive view of the organization’s security posture.
Medical devices, in particular, present unique security challenges. Many of these devices run on legacy operating systems that are difficult or impossible to patch, creating long-term vulnerabilities. Additionally, the critical nature of these devices often means they cannot be taken offline for updates or security maintenance without impacting patient care.
Demanding Regulations and Standards
Healthcare organizations must comply with strict regulations designed to safeguard protected health information (PHI), often with explicit requirements for reporting breaches and incidents promptly. While these regulations are necessary to protect patient privacy, they add another layer of complexity to security operations.
The need to balance security measures with regulatory compliance can sometimes lead to a checkbox mentality, where organizations focus on meeting specific requirements rather than adopting a holistic approach to security.
Evolving Tools and Tactics
Another factor that adds complexity to healthcare security is the diverse set of threat actor profiles and tactics involved. Threats against healthcare organizations may originate from diverse sources such as cybercriminals who are motivated by personal or financial gain, hacktivists looking to destabilize the healthcare system, and cyberterrorists or nation-state threat actors wanting to cause harm to perceived adversaries.
These threat actors have an ever-growing set of tools and tactics at their disposal, making attacks easier to execute than ever – and increasingly difficult to defend against. The rise of ransomware-as-a-service and other cybercrime-for-hire models has lowered the barrier to entry for would-be attackers, increasing the volume and sophistication of threats facing healthcare organizations.
Cutting Through Complexity: The Role of Advanced Analytics
Never has an industry cried out for better protections. Most healthcare companies have created a hard shell around their network and various levels of access, but once inside, a bad actor can have free rein. To address these complexities and mitigate risks effectively, healthcare organizations need tools that can provide comprehensive visibility and actionable insights.
A multi-layered approach is essential, starting with the integration of zero trust across the network and device monitoring. Technologies like network traffic analysis and user and entity behavior analytics can play a crucial role by catching anomalies when a device changes, ensuring that potential threats are identified early.
Network Traffic Analysis
Network traffic analytics can surface instances of unsanctioned application usage, unintentional PHI exposure, and signs of malicious activity. By analyzing network traffic patterns in real-time, healthcare organizations can:
- Detect compromised user accounts by identifying unusual login patterns or access attempts
- Identify anomalies that may indicate a security breach or policy violation
- Detect data exfiltration attempts, even through encrypted channels
- Ensure compliance with data protection regulations by tracking PHI flows
Advanced network traffic analysis tools use machine learning algorithms to establish baseline patterns of normal behavior, making it easier to spot deviations that could indicate a security threat. This approach is particularly valuable in healthcare environments where the diversity of devices and applications makes it challenging to define static rules for security monitoring.
User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)
UEBA analyzes patterns of human behavior to identify possible account abuse, insider threats, and non-compliant system and application usage. In healthcare settings, UEBA can:
- Monitor the behavior of IoT and medical devices for signs of compromise
- Highlight potential insider threats through analysis of user activities and data access patterns
- Identify non-compliant behavior, such as inappropriate access to patient records
- Streamline access management by providing insights into user roles and permissions
By establishing baseline behaviors for users and entities within the network, UEBA can identify changes in behavior or patterns that are clear indicators of a security risk. This is particularly valuable in healthcare settings where staff may have varying levels of access to sensitive patient data, and where detecting inappropriate access is crucial for maintaining patient privacy.
Integrating for Success
While network traffic analysis and UEBA are powerful tools on their own, their true potential is realized when integrated into a comprehensive security strategy. By combining these technologies with other security solutions such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems, healthcare organizations can create a more holistic view of their security posture.
The goal of most security programs is to protect the organization by establishing a foundation of tools and tactics that either block an attacker or quickly bring notice to the security team. Strategies like zero trust can serve as a blocking mechanism, but when that doesn’t work effectively, the integration of network traffic analysis, UEBA, and SIEM becomes crucial. This integrated approach allows security teams to correlate data from multiple sources, providing context that can help distinguish true threats from false positives. It also enables more efficient incident response by automating the collection and analysis of relevant data when a potential threat is detected.
These tools should be managed through a single, unified dashboard that brings all the information together in one place. This setup simplifies monitoring and ensures that the right people are quickly alerted to any issues, allowing for faster and more effective responses.
The Path to Resilience in Healthcare Cybersecurity
Ensuring the protection of sensitive patient data and the continuity of critical healthcare services are top priorities for all healthcare providers. By incorporating advanced analytics into a holistic security strategy, healthcare providers can not only reduce complexity and mitigate risk but also enhance their overall security posture.
About Kevin Kirkwood
Kevin Kirkwood is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Exabeam. As CISO, he is responsible for protecting Exabeam’s employees, customers, and data assets from digital threats.