Web Application Attacks on Healthcare Spike

As the first vials of COVID-19 vaccines were disseminated in December, Imperva Research Labs monitored an astounding 51% increase in web application attacks on healthcare targets.

Imperva data shows the healthcare industry experienced 187 million attacks per month globally, on average, or roughly 498 attacks per organization each month. That’s a 10% increase year-over-year, and it underscores the growing vulnerability of web applications for healthcare organizations — many of which are still struggling to manage the demands of the on-going global pandemic.

In December, Imperva researchers saw four specific attack types increase significantly in volume of recorded attacks:

• Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks increased 43% in December, and represents the largest number of overall attacks.
• SQL injections (SQLi) increased 44% and represents the second-largest volume of attacks.
• Protocol manipulation attacks increased at the greatest rate (76%) and represents the third-largest volume of overall attacks.
• Remote Code Execution/Remote File Inclusion (RCE/RFI) attacks increased by 68% in December but registered a smaller overall attack volume.

While this latest threat intelligence paints a grim picture, there are actions healthcare organizations can take today to protect themselves.

• Protect data — and all paths to it
• Move away from point solutions
• Don’t forget regulatory compliance

Read Terry Ray’s full blog here and contact your local Exclusive Networks Manager to find out more about how Imperva can help organizations protect their data and all paths to it.