AD Security and Recovery for Healthcare

Defend Critical Healthcare Systems Against Ransomware

Guard against cyberattacks that target hospitals and healthcare organizations.

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Cyberattacks against healthcare are on the rise

Healthcare systems worldwide are under constant pressure to deliver first-rate care despite a never-ending barrage of shifting challenges and emerging health threats. What’s worse, healthcare organizations are in the crosshairs of cybercriminals, who can capitalize on the reputational and financial damage of compromising highly regulated patient data.

HIPAA Journal

74%

increase in global healthcare attacks in 2022

HIPAA Journal

51M

US patient records breached in 2022

HIPAA Journal

71%

of cyberattacks against healthcare organization in 2022 were by caused by outside threat actors

Prime Healthcare Reduces Disaster Recovery Time from Days to Hours with Semperis ADFR

AD is a common target in attacks against healthcare orgs

Many healthcare organizations (and, in fact, 90% of businesses overall) use Active Directory as the core identity system to manage access to information systems—including medical records and patient data.

Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in AD to gain access to networks, propagate malware, and demand ransom. In the meantime, the healthcare organization’s operations come to a standstill, causing life-threatening disruptions in patient care.

Why healthcare AD systems are vulnerable

Healthcare organizations are a prized target for cybercriminals because they have enormous amounts of sensitive patient information. Because of the threat to patient safety caused by an attack, healthcare companies might be more likely to pay the ransom in order to quickly restore operations.

To avoid paying ransom, quickly recovering after a cyberattack, and ensure patient safety, healthcare organizations must prioritize cybersecurity, starting with protecting the identity system—the primary attack vector for cyber criminals. IT and security teams in healthcare organizations face multiple challenges:

Legacy technologies

Adoption of telehealth services

Human error

Complex regulatory compliance demands

Deployment of digital & networked equipment

Limited staff and frequent turnovers

Gain control of identity security

Semperis helps healthcare organizations prevent, mitigate, and recover from identity-related breaches—before, during, and after an attack.

Challenges

Solutions

Cyberattacks on healthcare organizations often target Active Directory vulnerabilities that cybercriminals exploit to gain access to patient information or to disrupt healthcare delivery and jeopardize patient safety.

Semperis uncovers security gaps in AD, including indicators of exposure (such as configurations that have drifted over time), and incidents of compromise (evidence of malicious activity).

Attackers can invade healthcare information systems and move undetected before unleashing malware.

Semperis identifies attacks that bypass agent-based or log-based detection and provides autonomous rollback of suspicious activity.

Cyberattacks can bring healthcare systems to a halt, preventing access to critical patient-care technology and medical records.

Semperis slashes the time to fully recover Active Directory, accelerating access to healthcare delivery systems and closing security gaps so cybercriminals can’t attack again.

How Semperis helps healthcare organizations defend against AD attacks

Active Directory is the core identity service for 90% of organizations worldwide, including hospitals and healthcare organizations. As a technology that’s now more than two decades old, Active Directory has security vulnerabilities that have accumulated over time, making it the #1 target for malicious actors. Without the Active Directory -specific protection that Semperis provides, healthcare organizations are still vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Here’s how Semperis has helped some of the largest hospitals and clinics recover from AD-related attacks.

Medical center creates resilience when ransomware strikes

Situation

Regional medical center security audit revealed deficiencies in its Active Directory.

Challenge

The company’s legacy backup solution would not suffice in the event of an attack.

Solution

AD backup and recovery, threat detection, and change tracking delivered by Semperis.

Benefits

AD-base indicators of exposure and compromise
Tested AD recovery
Automated and ensure malware-free recovery

Large healthcare system partners with Semperis to recover from ransomware attack

Situation

Large healthcare system in US needed to combat a ransomware attack.

Challenge

Attackers exploited Active Directory for reconnaissance, lateral movement, privilege escalation, and persistence.

Solution

Semperis used Purple Knight to discover AD weaknesses and recommend remediation.

Benefits

Detected exploited vulnerabilities
Executed steps to remove weaknesses
Established positive security change going forward

Leading healthcare companies trust Semperis

Top healthcare organizations rely on Semperis to safeguard their most valuable assets, maintain compliance, and achieve operational efficiency in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

LARGEST HEALTH SYSTEM IN THE US

GLOBAL PHARAMACEUTICAL COMPANY

HEALTH INSURER IN THE US

Having ADFR at the center of our disaster recovery plan put our mind at ease because now we know that if an incident happens again that takes out the DCs, we have a direct course of action.
Learn more David Yancey Prime Healthcare Senior Systems Engineer

The combination of our healthcare specialization and Semperis’ Active Directory security and recovery technical expertise proves to be a game-changer for our healthcare clients facing ransomware attacks. Together we are able to extend our solution offerings for clients to help protect one of their most critical and persistently targeted attack vectors—directory systems, both on-premises and in the cloud. In a sector where cyberattacks almost always involve AD in some form, this has proved important in providing a strong security stance and minimizing the impact of an attack.
Marty Momdjian Healthcare Solutions Advisor for Sirius, a CDW company

Just as healthcare leaders unite to make groundbreaking discoveries for better medical outcomes, we need to take the same collaborative approach to cybersecurity research and innovation for a safer world. Atrium Health seeks out companies building category-defining solutions that benefit the entire healthcare industry. Semperis is widely adopted in the healthcare sector, with a focus on protecting critical and persistently targeted identity systems, like Active Directory and Azure AD.
Todd Greene Vice President & Enterprise CISO, Atrium Health