Following the escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran in the past week, the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) is warning hospitals and health systems that Iran could attack health organizations, which are considered critical infrastructure, and that they make sure their systems are being updated with patches.

H-ISAC further recommended that healthcare organizations keep their backup data off-site in the event of an intrusion or data breach.

Heath systems may consider warning their employees of the increased risk and to be on heightened alert for Iranian-backed attacks, including through the use of more frequent phishing campaigns and social media [view related post]. Many are not thinking that Iran’s threat of retaliation could come in the form of a cyber-attack, so educating employees may assist in mitigating this substantial risk for them both professionally and personally.