Health Insurance in the Cross Hairs
Unfortunately, health insurance organizations have become a target of choice for organized cybercrime. Protecting patient and business data from these forces requires strong MFA and visibility into increasing identity risks.
In 2011, it was TRICARE. Then, in 2015, there were Anthem, Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus. By 2023, Change Healthcare was in the news for losing confidential information on over 100 million Americans to persistent attackers. Not because any of these organizations were lazy or lax but because health insurance sits at the intersection of the most fertile cyber hunting grounds: detailed personal information and billing records. Protecting these targets requires deep insight into identity risks and MFA that’s hardened by strong, enterprise-grade credential management.
In 2011, it was TRICARE. Then, in 2015, there were Anthem, Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus. By 2023, Change Healthcare was in the news for losing confidential information on over 100 million Americans to persistent attackers. Not because any of these organizations were lazy or lax but because health insurance sits at the intersection of the most fertile cyber hunting grounds: detailed personal information and billing records. Protecting these targets requires deep insight into identity risks and MFA that’s hardened by strong, enterprise-grade credential management.
Key Security Challenges for Health Insurers
Cybersecurity Threats
The High Cost of Rip-and-Replace Authentication Efforts
Mergers and Acquisitions Create Blind Spots
Managing Credentials Across Hybrid Environments is Tough Work
The list of health insurers that cyber attackers have breached has now become legendary. In 2023 alone, nearly 700 breaches accounted for the loss of hundreds of millions of patient records. Because these records are valuable for generating criminal profits through ransomware, phishing campaigns, and social engineering attacks, healthcare insurers are looking for tools to strengthen their existing controls.
Upgrading MFA or other authentication solutions has usually meant ripping-and-replacing expensive older systems. This is a non-starter for almost any industry segment but is especially hard for legacy companies trying to stay ahead of modern threats.
Health insurers are constantly pursuing mergers, acquisitions, and expansion. Success in these efforts leads to more revenue, better bargaining power, and lower premiums … but can also leave massive blind spots. Due diligence now demands that acquirers fully understand the acquired's security postures—the human and non-human identities.
It’s often the nature of health insurers to have many different heterogeneous systems deployed in their cyber defense schemes. This leads to multiple identity providers (IdPs) having both hardware and software-based authenticators, plus a plethora of legacy and modern devices to integrate with.
Cybersecurity Threats
The list of health insurers that cyber attackers have breached has now become legendary. In 2023 alone, nearly 700 breaches accounted for the loss of hundreds of millions of patient records. Because these records are valuable for generating criminal profits through ransomware, phishing campaigns, and social engineering attacks, healthcare insurers are looking for tools to strengthen their existing controls.
The High Cost of Rip-and-Replace Authentication Efforts
Upgrading MFA or other authentication solutions has usually meant ripping-and-replacing expensive older systems. This is a non-starter for almost any industry segment but is especially hard for legacy companies trying to stay ahead of modern threats.
Mergers and Acquisitions Create Blind Spots
Health insurers are constantly pursuing mergers, acquisitions, and expansion. Success in these efforts leads to more revenue, better bargaining power, and lower premiums … but can also leave massive blind spots. Due diligence now demands that acquirers fully understand the acquired's security postures—the human and non-human identities.
Managing Credentials Across Hybrid Environments is Tough Work
It’s often the nature of health insurers to have many different heterogeneous systems deployed in their cyber defense schemes. This leads to multiple identity providers (IdPs) having both hardware and software-based authenticators, plus a plethora of legacy and modern devices to integrate with.
How Axiad Cloud Helps Health Insurers
Add Phishing-Resistant MFA
Augment Existing Authentication Solutions
Add Visibility to Mergers with Identity Risk Insight
Automate Credential Management
Achieve Seamless Integration
Real Results for Health Insurance Organizations
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Read how one of the region's largest insurers brought streamlined credential management and strengthened MFA to 10,000 workers and contractors.
Achieve Compliance with Axiad Cloud
Meet stringent security and compliance standards such as NIST, FedRAMP, and PCI DSS. Axiad Conductor offers phishing-resistant authentication and credential solutions that comply with the latest regulations and guidelines.
Ready to Secure Your Health Insurance Organization?
Take the next step in securing your health insurance business and its customers with Axiad’s solutions for identity risk management and phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication.
