Germany’s health care system is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world. But its hospitals are facing a new threat: cyberattacks.
Last week, a hospital at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf plunged into chaos when a hacker disabled its computer network.
The attack ended in tragedy for one woman in desperate need of urgent care.
Because the system was down, staff were forced to send the woman to another hospital for treatment. But the nearest option was in Wuppertal, which is 20 miles away.
Unfortunately, the woman didn’t make it.
If only the hospital in Düsseldorf had upgraded its network’s cybersecurity, it’s possible — even likely — that this woman would’ve lived.
These kinds of cyberattacks are common nowadays. But this could be the first fatal case.
It just goes to show that cyberattacks can happen anywhere at any time. And that cybersecurity is more vital than ever as we continue to integrate technology into our daily lives.
We Must Stop Cyberattacks at All Costs
Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that global cybercrime will cost $6 trillion in damages and lost productivity in 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015.
Yet, according to a new report from Research and Markets, global spending on cybersecurity this year is expected to total only $152 billion — just a 1.8% increase over 2019.
The report explains that the lack of cybersecurity spending is at least partly related to the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But as the cyberattacks on the Düsseldorf hospital and elsewhere show, the hackers haven’t stopped during the pandemic. If anything, cybercrime’s getting even worse.
There’s hope, though. That’s because Big Data is one of the fastest-growing tech industries right now.
As my colleague Steve Fernandez explained on Tuesday, Big Data has the potential to be an incredibly profitable business. And it simply can’t afford to let cybercrime get in its way.
As the Big Data boom continues, these companies will need to guarantee to their clients that their networks and servers are secure.
That’s why the biggest winners of the next decade will be the businesses willing to do whatever it takes to stop cyberattacks.
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