A patient's medical record holds far more than a name and date of birth;
it carries the most sensitive information. That's exactly what makes medical data one of the most expensive,
high-value assets traded on the cybercrime market. Document centralization, collecting the patient records and
medical documents scattered across a hospital into one place, is no longer optional for healthcare institutions.
It's becoming essential.
01. Why Healthcare Security, and Why Now?
Cyberattacks targeting healthcare institutions are truly alarming these days.
The statistics clearly make this clear. Over the past five years,
breach incidents targeting domestic medical institutions have exceeded 200 cases,
with 68 cases occurring in the first half of 2024 alone, approximately 3.7 times more than in 2020.
At one security conference,
analysts reported that cyberattacks aimed at domestic hospitals are increasing by 84% annually.
Just looking at the numbers, you can feel how fast the threat is growing.
The crux of the problem lies in the value of medical information. On the cybercrime market,
patient records are reportedly traded at prices 10 to 20 times higher than ordinary personal data.
That's exactly why hackers target hospitals.
What’s more, medical information goes beyond mere personal data,
it's an asset tied directly to patients' lives. When systems are paralyzed, treatment grinds to a halt,
surgeries get postponed, and in the worst cases, lives can be put at risk.
02. What Has Actually Happened?
Case 1 │ 180,000 Patient Records Leaked via USBs and Email
In 2023, an incident was uncovered in which the records of over 185,000 patient records were leaked from
17 general hospitals across the country. The shocking part was that the perpetrators were not external hackers,
but internal hospital staff and pharmaceutical company employees.
They photographed or downloaded the records of patients prescribed certain medications from hospital systems,
then smuggled it out via USB drives and email.
The fact that patient records could be so easily copied to personal PCs and removable storage drives and
carried out in the course of everyday work clearly shows how media control, export control,
and access-history management are so much for healthcare institutions.
Case 2 │ 830,000 People Exposed in a Single Breach via Unauthorized Access
In 2021, a major national university hospital suffered an incident in which the personal
information of approximately 830,000 patients and staff was leaked due to unauthorized external access.
External attacks lead to massive asset losses even when just a single point is breached. In particular,
the National Intelligence Service has been continuously detecting signs that North Korean hacking groups are making
domestic healthcare institutions a primary target, making it increasingly difficult to call any hospital a safe zone.
03. There Are Already Plenty of Security Solutions, So Why Didn't They Stop It?
Medical institutions operate a variety of security solutions, including antivirus, DRM, DLP, and firewalls.
So why do leaks keep happening? The answer is surprisingly simple: the environment in which it remains unclear where
and in what form "patient information and medical documents" are scattered has been left unaddressed.
When documents are dispersed across employees' personal PCs and USB drives,
institutions are left defenseless against the following two threats.
① Exfiltration by Insiders
As with the 180,000-record leak discussed earlier, when patient information can be freely saved to personal PCs or removable storage, it becomes extremely difficult to prevent insider exfiltration. In fact, one general hospital official admitted, "We can't actually block people from viewing the data, we can only train them not to copy it onto a USB and take it." This reflects a clear understanding on the ground that "training" alone cannot ensure control.
② External Hacking and Ransomware
More than 90% of breach incidents targeting hospitals involve ransomware. When documents are scattered across personal PCs and aging servers, a single infected machine can immediately bring treatment to a standstill, and any data without backups may be lost forever. One survey found that 67% of healthcare institutions worldwide have experienced ransomware, with average recovery costs reaching approximately USD 9.8 million (about KRW 13.6 billion). In other words, the very environment of decentralized storage already carries inherent risk.
04. What's Needed: "Document Centralization"
In the end, it comes down to one thing: make visible where every document is stored and which version it is.
That's what document centralization does.
Unlike a simple file server or cloud storage, it makes the central server,
managing documents across their entire lifecycle.
① Asset Control │ Unified Records
Scattered, unstructured documents are consolidated on a central server.
Paper is scanned into digital assets, duplicates and old versions are cleared automatically,
and each document follows a lifecycle from creation to disposal.
② Access Control │ Least Privilege
Blocking local storage removes leak paths at the source, with access segmented by role.
Viewing beyond purposes is blocked, and external transfers require approval.
③ Collaboration │ Easy and Secure
A Windows Explorer–style UI supports comfortable adaptation.
Large files are shared via URL with revocation and expiration, version integrity holds during co-editing,
and the External Shared Folder enables safe exchang while local storage stays blocked.
As K-healthcare evolves rapidly through digital transformation,
a medical institution's competitiveness depends not only on "what kind of care it can provide" but just as heavily on
"how well it can protect patient information." With 28 years of accumulated document-centralization expertise,
Cyberdigm is here to help you take that first step.
Sources
- "Healthcare Breach Incidents Surpass 200 Cases Over the Past Five Years," Daily Security
- "Cyberattacks Targeting Domestic Hospitals Increase 84% Annually," Digital Daily
- "Records of 185,271 Patients Leaked from 17 University Hospitals," Medigate News
- Press coverage regarding "2021 National University Hospital Unauthorized Access: Personal Information of Approximately 830,000 People Leaked"
- "91 of 100 Healthcare Breach Incidents Were Ransomware," Seoul Economy TV
- "Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Risks, Best Practices, and Frameworks," SentinelOne
A patient's medical record holds far more than a name and date of birth;
it carries the most sensitive information. That's exactly what makes medical data one of the most expensive,
high-value assets traded on the cybercrime market. Document centralization, collecting the patient records and
medical documents scattered across a hospital into one place, is no longer optional for healthcare institutions.
It's becoming essential.
01. Why Healthcare Security, and Why Now?
Cyberattacks targeting healthcare institutions are truly alarming these days.
The statistics clearly make this clear. Over the past five years,
breach incidents targeting domestic medical institutions have exceeded 200 cases,
with 68 cases occurring in the first half of 2024 alone, approximately 3.7 times more than in 2020.
At one security conference,
analysts reported that cyberattacks aimed at domestic hospitals are increasing by 84% annually.
Just looking at the numbers, you can feel how fast the threat is growing.
The crux of the problem lies in the value of medical information. On the cybercrime market,
patient records are reportedly traded at prices 10 to 20 times higher than ordinary personal data.
That's exactly why hackers target hospitals.
What’s more, medical information goes beyond mere personal data,
it's an asset tied directly to patients' lives. When systems are paralyzed, treatment grinds to a halt,
surgeries get postponed, and in the worst cases, lives can be put at risk.
02. What Has Actually Happened?
Case 1 │ 180,000 Patient Records Leaked via USBs and Email
In 2023, an incident was uncovered in which the records of over 185,000 patient records were leaked from
17 general hospitals across the country. The shocking part was that the perpetrators were not external hackers,
but internal hospital staff and pharmaceutical company employees.
They photographed or downloaded the records of patients prescribed certain medications from hospital systems,
then smuggled it out via USB drives and email.
The fact that patient records could be so easily copied to personal PCs and removable storage drives and
carried out in the course of everyday work clearly shows how media control, export control,
and access-history management are so much for healthcare institutions.
Case 2 │ 830,000 People Exposed in a Single Breach via Unauthorized Access
In 2021, a major national university hospital suffered an incident in which the personal
information of approximately 830,000 patients and staff was leaked due to unauthorized external access.
External attacks lead to massive asset losses even when just a single point is breached. In particular,
the National Intelligence Service has been continuously detecting signs that North Korean hacking groups are making
domestic healthcare institutions a primary target, making it increasingly difficult to call any hospital a safe zone.
03. There Are Already Plenty of Security Solutions, So Why Didn't They Stop It?
Medical institutions operate a variety of security solutions, including antivirus, DRM, DLP, and firewalls.
So why do leaks keep happening? The answer is surprisingly simple: the environment in which it remains unclear where
and in what form "patient information and medical documents" are scattered has been left unaddressed.
When documents are dispersed across employees' personal PCs and USB drives,
institutions are left defenseless against the following two threats.
① Exfiltration by Insiders
As with the 180,000-record leak discussed earlier, when patient information can be freely saved to personal PCs or removable storage, it becomes extremely difficult to prevent insider exfiltration. In fact, one general hospital official admitted, "We can't actually block people from viewing the data, we can only train them not to copy it onto a USB and take it." This reflects a clear understanding on the ground that "training" alone cannot ensure control.
② External Hacking and Ransomware
More than 90% of breach incidents targeting hospitals involve ransomware. When documents are scattered across personal PCs and aging servers, a single infected machine can immediately bring treatment to a standstill, and any data without backups may be lost forever. One survey found that 67% of healthcare institutions worldwide have experienced ransomware, with average recovery costs reaching approximately USD 9.8 million (about KRW 13.6 billion). In other words, the very environment of decentralized storage already carries inherent risk.
04. What's Needed: "Document Centralization"
In the end, it comes down to one thing: make visible where every document is stored and which version it is.
That's what document centralization does.
Unlike a simple file server or cloud storage, it makes the central server,
managing documents across their entire lifecycle.
① Asset Control │ Unified Records
Scattered, unstructured documents are consolidated on a central server.
Paper is scanned into digital assets, duplicates and old versions are cleared automatically,
and each document follows a lifecycle from creation to disposal.
② Access Control │ Least Privilege
Blocking local storage removes leak paths at the source, with access segmented by role.
Viewing beyond purposes is blocked, and external transfers require approval.
③ Collaboration │ Easy and Secure
A Windows Explorer–style UI supports comfortable adaptation.
Large files are shared via URL with revocation and expiration, version integrity holds during co-editing,
and the External Shared Folder enables safe exchang while local storage stays blocked.
As K-healthcare evolves rapidly through digital transformation,
a medical institution's competitiveness depends not only on "what kind of care it can provide" but just as heavily on
"how well it can protect patient information." With 28 years of accumulated document-centralization expertise,
Cyberdigm is here to help you take that first step.
Sources