Inside Cyber

CHAPTER 18Artificial Intelligence and Health Care

Artificial intelligence (AI) and health can have an impact on each other in two ways. First is the threat to hospitals and health care facilities from cyberattacks, and the potential damage that can therefore occur. Second is the enormous impact AI is already making on accelerating treatment capabilities and enabling the quality of health care.

Cyber Threats

Health care executives, hospitals, and patients are all part of a digital ecosystem that is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Hospitals are vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the volume of data they handle and the numerous weak points in their various systems. Attacks with ransomware have become the go-to tactic for extortion and attacks against the health care industry.

Cybersecurity in the health care industry is changing and complex. Issues include patient privacy protection, medical equipment and device security, and information security networks of hospitals and medical facilities. The cornerstones of the transformation in health care cybersecurity are people, procedures, and technologies.

In actuality, hospitals make sense as targets for hackers due to several factors. The numerous data flows among the different systems make them vulnerable to insider threats and phishing attempts. Their networked systems with numerous stations and devices make them a prime target for ransomware and virus extortion. Furthermore, the majority of medical facility employees lack basic ...