{"id":30996,"date":"2021-12-26T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=30996"},"modified":"2026-03-28T00:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T21:06:34","slug":"90-of-healthcare-providers-in-ksa-use-medical-equipment-with-a-legacy-os","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/90-of-healthcare-providers-in-ksa-use-medical-equipment-with-a-legacy-os\/","title":{"rendered":"90% of healthcare providers in KSA use medical equipment with a legacy OS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to Kaspersky\u2019s new Healthcare report 2021, only 10% of Saudi healthcare organizations confirm that all medical equipment they utilize runs up-to-date software. Usage of legacy operating systems (OS) exposes healthcare organizations to additional vulnerabilities and cyber-risks.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

26 December 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medicine has always been a field where innovations play a crucial and truly life-saving role. However, during the pandemic, the healthcare industry was forced to significantly speed up the implementation of new developments. Indeed, this pace of change and urgent digitalization within medical organizations was noted by 81% of executives<\/a> in a recent Accenture report. To determine whether this mass transition to telehealth<\/a> is keeping pace with security measures, Kaspersky conducted a global survey of healthcare providers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research found that organizations widely use medical equipment with a legacy OS, mainly because of high upgrade costs, compatibility issues, or a lack of internal knowledge on how to upgrade, among other reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The usage of outdated equipment may lead to cyber-incidents. When software developers stop supporting a system, they also halt the release of any updates, which among other improvements, often contain security patches for discovered vulnerabilities. If left unpatched, these can become easy and accessible<\/a> to penetrate the company\u2019s infrastructure, even for unskilled attackers. Healthcare organizations collect a wealth of sensitive and valuable data, making them one of the most lucrative targets<\/a>, and unpatched devices can facilitate a successful attack for adversaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to cybersecurity readiness, only 40% of healthcare workers are very confident that their organization can effectively stop all security attacks or breaches at the perimeter. Just 30% expressed conviction that their organization has up-to-date, adequate hardware and software IT security protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, (40%) of KSA respondents agreed that their organization had already experienced data leaks, DDoS, or ransomware attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe healthcare sector is evolving to meet the demand for accessible help by actively adopting connected devices. But this also adds unique cybersecurity challenges typical to embedded systems. Our report confirms that many organizations still use medical devices that run on old OS and face obstacles that hamper upgrades.<\/em> While there is a need for developing a strategy of modernization, there are also solutions and measures available which can help to minimize the risks in the meantime. Those combined with medical staff awareness can significantly raise the security level and pave the way for the future development of the healthcare industry,\u201d <\/em>comments Sergey Martsynkyan, VP, Corporate Product Marketing at Kaspersky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help the healthcare sector minimize the likelihood of cyber-incidents caused by obsolete and unpatched systems, Kaspersky recommends taking the following steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n