As security leaders know, the threat landscape is constantly changing. As technology develops at rapid rates, so do common cyberattack methods. The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it easier for cybercriminals to launch attacks with fewer resources or skills.

BlackBerry has released their 2023 Q2 report, analyzing cybersecurity events from March to May 2023. The report focused on critical infrastructure and large organizations, such as banks or hospitals. According to the report, threat actors deployed about 11.5 attacks per minute across all sectors. The healthcare and financial sector were some of the most targeted. This was due to the information these industries hold (bank account information, personally identifiable information [PII] and Social Security numbers) and that is seen as particularly lucrative for cybercriminals. It can be used as blackmail material or for further crimes, such as identity theft.

Healthcare is also a common target due to the essential systems within hospitals. Threat actors know that hospitals cannot be offline for extended periods and will target them in the hope that they’ll pay the ransom quickly to get back online.

According to the report, government organizations are attractive to cybercriminals with geopolitical or financial motivations. Q2 was largely dominated by ransomware attacks targeting North American city and state government systems.

Critical infrastructure is also a common target for attacks. While often isolated from other systems, increasing digitization has opened critical infrastructure to new risks. Like healthcare, critical infrastructure organizations need to keep running to prevent disaster, making them more likely to pay a ransom to threat actors. According to the report, the U.S. faced the most critical infrastructure attacks, followed by India, Japan and Ecuador.

As the COVID-19 pandemic taught a lot of security leaders, the public isn’t entirely prepared for a public health disaster. Whether from completely natural causes or as a result of bioterrorism, plans need to be made to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released its annual report on how prepared different parts of the U.S. are for a health disaster. According to the report, nine states moved up within their three-tier rating system. This comes as a result of increased funding, improved resource access or state initiatives to promote health and safety. Nine states fell within the system for a variety of reasons, including losing accreditation from the Emergency Management Accreditation Program.

A major aspect to ensuring public health is healthcare staff. Healthcare workers are often under stress, and face additional risks such as workplace violence from patients or peers. To improve national emergency response, 37 states participated in the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows registered nurses to practice in multiple jurisdictions with a single license. When there’s an outbreak or natural disaster, security leaders in these states can make plans on how to increase their healthcare staff to meet the demand.

The report also analyzed information and data sharing in regards to health emergencies. Having access to accurate data is critical in an emergency. However, the challenge is collecting and safely storing this data, according to the report. Increased cyberattacks and data breaches have made individuals hesitate before providing their full information, making it difficult to gain a clear picture. Building strong data protection systems are essential in ensuring security leaders have all the information they need. This will increase patient trust and also strengthen a healthcare facility’s cyber resilience.