Why Are Cybersecurity Threats Targeting Healthcare Financial Data?

When we look at healthcare cybersecurity threats, the primary target is typically patient health records. But there’s another target that’s just as vulnerable and valuable: your financial data.

Your organization handles an enormous amount of information every day, including patient billing details, insurance claims, payroll systems, credit card transactions, and vendor payments. A single breach can lead to massive financial losses, delayed reimbursements, and even legal consequences.

With over 25 years of experience in healthcare IT, we at ER Tech Pros know the importance of securing every piece of healthcare data. We deliver the same high-level protection to your financial data as we do to patient health information with managed cybersecurity strategies tailored to your exact needs.

Why Is Healthcare Financial Data a Prime Target?

Cybercriminals go after your patient records and financial data. While healthcare organizations are improving their security of protected health information (PHI), financial systems often receive less attention. This, along with several other factors, makes your organization’s financial data particularly attractive to cybercriminals.

High-Value Data, High-Volume Activity

Healthcare organizations process a constant stream of financial transactions daily, and many of these run through outdated systems that lack robust cybersecurity solutions, which aren’t built to withstand today’s cybersecurity threats in healthcare.

The Perfect Mix for Fraud

Financial data is a comprehensive profile of every patient and payer you work with, paired with personal identifiers like:

• Credit Card Numbers
• Billing Addresses
• Social Security Numbers
• Insurance Policy Details
• Bank Account Information

Outdated Tech and Fragmented System

According to a 2021 HIMSS report, 73% of healthcare providers are still using legacy systems in their operations. This likely includes a patchwork of vendors handling billing, payroll, or revenue cycle management with gaps that attackers love to exploit.

More Data Means More Risk

The more data you collect and store, the more you risk losing. With regulations like HIPAA, HITECH, and PCI-DSS, healthcare organizations are under constant pressure to protect sensitive financial information.

The Cybersecurity Threats Targeting Your Data

Cybercriminals use sophisticated methods to swipe your data, but the initial steps to infiltrating it aren’t as high-tech as you’d think.

Phishing & Social Engineering

Phishing remains the most common method that attackers use to break in, with an estimated 3.4 billion spam emails sent every day . One click from an unsuspecting staff member can give hackers access to billing portals, payroll systems, or patient payment info.

How do you know which emails are legitimate and which aren’t?

Ransomware Attacks

Apart from exploiting software vulnerabilities, ransomware accesses your network when you click or download malicious attachments, ads, or suspicious links. Once activated, it freezes your medical records (or holds them ransom), which also brings billing and payroll to a stop.

Business Email Compromises (BEC)

BEC scammers are meticulous and crafty. They do their research and impersonate someone trusted from your company to convince you to:

• Redirect payroll deposits.
• Change payment details on vendor invoices.
• Steal large sums of money without triggering alarms.

Malware in Payment Systems

With point-of-sale (POS) malware , hackers insert malicious code into outdated payment systems to skim credit card data, reroute transactions, or quietly siphon funds without being detected by cybersecurity programs.

Insider Threats

Sometimes, the risk is already inside. Internal users can unintentionally (or intentionally) expose sensitive financial data. You can adopt the best strategy for preventing these types of attacks with our free security threat guide.

The Cost of a Breach

When financial data in healthcare is compromised, the fallout can hit hard and fast

Financial Losses Build Up

A breach can open the door to:

• Insurance fraud
• Lawsuits from patients or vendors
• Hefty regulatory fines
• The cost of patient refunds or identity monitoring services

The average healthcare data breach costs as high as $4.88 million, and when financial systems are involved, that number climbs even higher.

Trust Gets Damaged

Patients count on providers to protect their personal and financial information. One breach can shake patient confidence, damage your reputation, and lead to long-term business losses.

Operations Halt

When your billing system is offline:

• You can’t submit your claims.
• You can’t process payments.
• You and your employees’ payrolls get delayed.
• Your revenue stalls.

Even a short disruption can cause long-term setbacks.

Regulatory Troubles

Following a breach, an investigation ensues, and if you’re found to be non-compliant with HIPAA, HITECH, or PCI-DSS, penalties may include civil fines, corrective action plans, and public reporting of violations.

Why Most Healthcare Providers Are Behind

If the consequences of a breach are so serious, why aren’t more providers better protected?

The truth is, even the most well-meaning organizations often face gaps in their cybersecurity posture.

Limited Investment in Cybersecurity Software

Cybersecurity is not a priority for some practices, especially smaller clinics and underfunded facilities. The costs of firewalls, advanced threat monitoring, and secure payment platforms are often not part of the budget.

No Dedicated IT or Cybersecurity Staff

Many providers rely on general IT support or outsourced vendors who aren’t specialized in healthcare threats. This makes it harder to spot financial system risks, enforce best practices, or respond quickly when something goes wrong.

A Patchwork Tech Stack

When you have different vendors or service providers doing various aspects of your financials, it’s easy for threats to slip in, especially if your partners don’t follow the same security standards.

Outdated Software & Delayed Updates

Legacy systems and unsupported software are perfect targets for cybercriminals. Unpatched vulnerabilities are one of the easiest ways for attackers to gain access.

No Regular Training or Risk Assessments

If your team isn’t regularly trained to spot phishing attempts or follow security protocols, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable. Likewise, if your organization hasn’t done a formal risk assessment in the last 12 months, chances are there are blind spots you haven’t discovered yet.

Stay Ahead, Stay Protected with ER Tech Pros

Having a cybersecurity plan is a good start. But partnering with a team that truly understands healthcare—that’s how you stay ahead of the threats.

For over 25 years, ER Tech Pros has been helping healthcare organizations like yours transform from vulnerable to impenetrable with premium cybersecurity management services without the hefty price tag.

Purpose-Built for Healthcare

Whether you’re a small clinic, a specialty provider, or a large health network, we tailor each part of your cybersecurity plan to your systems, workflows, and risk areas.

In-Depth Financial Data Risk Assessments

Our team digs deep into your financial systems to identify and mitigate hidden risks, configuration issues, and security vulnerabilities.

24/7 Monitoring + Rapid Incident Response

Cybercriminals don’t follow business hours, and neither do we. We maintain regular immutable backups and around-the-clock monitoring to detect threats in real-time.We’re more than just another IT company. We’re the healthcare IT specialists who understand that:

• Patient care comes first.
• Downtime isn’t an option.
• Compliance is non-negotiable.
• Your success is our success.

Every healthcare organization we’ve worked with started with a simple conversation about their challenges and goals. We'd love to have that call with you.