Dealing with a higher level of uncertainty and increased risk
When it comes to cyber-attacks, the pharmaceutical sector is a prime target, because this industry is built on innovation and large-scale investment in R&D, intellectual property (IP) on medicines, and new compounds. This is a very attractive sector for hackers, the average data breach in pharmaceutical industry costs around 4 million, in addition to the harm to the brand itself.
Despite the big risks and the real threats, we see that most companies are not prepared. They don’t have the tools and capacity to keep security measures up to date, as the cyber threat landscape became more complex. Because it is easier for hackers to initiate attacks, organisations are on a higher level of uncertainty and increased risk.
Missing patches
The top ten vulnerabilities accounted for 97% of the reported breaches. Most vulnerabilities have been known, with patches available, for months or years. This suggests that corporations neglect, for one reason or another, to regularly patch systems. Legacy equipment and IoT devices, often used in the labs introduce high risks. Most of these devices have missing patches and are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Proper cybersecurity practices are of vital importance to protect data integrity and data privacy in clinical trials and in the labs.
The weakest link
Humans are the weakest link in cyber security chain, recent reports show that most of the time a human error is what led to a cyber-attack consequently. These attacks normally started with a simple phishing email or a phone call. This emphasises the importance of employee training and the role they play in protecting systems.
Vivenics applies a risk-based approach to identify threats and vulnerabilities, and to prioritise mitigation steps. Data security needs to be your priority as science is built on information.