Security and Resilience in eHealth: Security Challenges and Risks

Studies have shown that cyber security incidents in eHealth systems can have a great societal impact. In a recent ENISA study, twelve out of eighteen Member States (MS) that participated in the survey- consider healthcare as a critical sector, therefore they should take all appropriate measures to protect their ICT systems and assets.

The scope and governance model of eHealth services may vary in the Member States (MS); it might be implemented as centralised or even decentralised and may be extended, offering cross-border services. Additionally, critical assets identification in the healthcare systems and infrastructures may be based on different criteria, such as business continuity, data security and integrity, services availability, eHealth security policy and legislation. Moreover usual practices, cyber security challenges, approaches to mitigate risks, and requirements for the eHealth infrastructures may converge, diverge or be inadequate.

The aim of this study is to investigate the approaches and measures MS take to protect critical healthcare systems, having as a main goal improved healthcare and patient safety. In that respect this study analyses:

  • The policy context in Europe and the legislation of the Member States
  • The perception of the Member States on critical assets in eHealth infrastructures
  • The most important security challenges
  • The most common security requirements
  • Relevant good practices that have been deployed in the MS for eHealth security

Cyber security incidents affecting eHealth services and infrastructures cause great impact. As a result this study focuses on the availability, continuity and resilience of these systems and infrastructures. Issues like data integrity, data protection and data confidentiality are always important when we talk about eHealth, however this study aims at presenting another side of the same coin. It is important to analyse these systems from the availability and resilience angle to understand how great the societal impact could be should, for example, a network supporting 3-4 regional hospitals not be available.

Download: Security and Resilience in eHealth: Security Challenges and Risks (.pdf, 2.226 KB).

Download from eHealthNews.eu: Security and Resilience in eHealth: Security Challenges and Risks (.pdf, 2.226 KB).

Most Popular Now

Using Data and AI to Create Better Healt…

Academic medical centers could transform patient care by adopting principles from learning health systems principles, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of California, San Diego. In...

AI Medical Receptionist Modernizing Doct…

A virtual medical receptionist named "Cassie," developed through research at Texas A&M University, is transforming the way patients interact with health care providers. Cassie is a digital-human assistant created by Humanate...

Northern Ireland Completes Nationwide Ro…

Go-lives at Western and Southern health and social care trusts mean every pathology service is using the same laboratory information management system; improving efficiency and quality. An ambitious technology project to...

AI Tool Set to Transform Characterisatio…

A multinational team of researchers, co-led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has developed and tested a new AI tool to better characterise the diversity of individual cells within...

AI Detects Hidden Heart Disease Using Ex…

Mass General Brigham researchers have developed a new AI tool in collaboration with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to probe through previously collected CT scans and identify...

Human-AI Collectives Make the Most Accur…

Diagnostic errors are among the most serious problems in everyday medical practice. AI systems - especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4, Gemini, or Claude 3 - offer new ways...

Highland Marketing Announced as Official…

Highland Marketing has been named, for the second year running, the official communications partner for HETT Show 2025, the UK's leading digital health conference and exhibition. Taking place 7-8 October...

MHP-Net: A Revolutionary AI Model for Ac…

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Accurate segmentation of liver tumors is a crucial step for the management of the...

Groundbreaking TACIT Algorithm Offers Ne…

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a novel algorithm that could provide a revolutionary tool for determining the best options for patients - both in the treatment...

The Many Ways that AI Enters Rheumatolog…

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the standard to diagnose and assess progression in interstitial lung disease (ILD), a key feature in systemic sclerosis (SSc). But AI-assisted interpretation has the potential...