Singapore's healthcare cyber breaches expose growing risks beyond hospitals, warn experts

Detailed summary

Six of 10 reported data breaches in the past two months involved healthcare-related organisations, highlighting concerns over cybersecurity risks across an increasingly…

Six of 10 reported data breaches in the past two months involved healthcare-related organisations, highlighting concerns over cybersecurity risks across an increasingly interconnected sector.

SINGAPORE: A recent spate of cyber incidents involving healthcare organisations in Singapore points to a broader shift in the threat landscape, with hackers increasingly targeting not just hospitals but also clinics, telehealth platforms and third-party service providers that handle sensitive healthcare data, experts said.

In the past two months, 10 cybersecurity breaches involving compromised information have been reported, six of which were healthcare-related.

While experts CNA spoke to stopped short of describing the incidents as a coordinated campaign, they said malicious actors are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities across an interconnected healthcare ecosystem that holds valuable personal data and depends heavily on uninterrupted digital services.

"This pattern is not coincidental," said Mr Andrew Kay, senior director of systems engineering at cybersecurity firm Illumio.

"Threat actors prioritise sectors where data is valuable and operational pressure is high, and healthcare meets both criteria."

In a statement on Friday (Nov 13), the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) said the recent string of cyber incidents reflects "a broader global trend of opportunistic attacks", rather than coordinated campaigns targeting Singapore.

The average monthly number of reported cyber incidents since September has been three times the January to August average, it said.

"Threat actors actively scan the internet for vulnerable systems, and organisations can become victims even if they are not specifically targeted," CSA said, urging organisations to strengthen their cyber defences.

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