Pharma Industries are prioritizing Cybersecurity

Over 70% of pharma companies see a need in investing in big data, blockchain, cloud computing and cybersecurity according to GlobalData. 

Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, commented: “There is a sizable market on the dark web for healthcare industry related data and breaking into pharmaceutical companies’ systems can expose information related to clinical trials, trade secrets, and IP associated with drug formulation processes and technologies. Any cyberattack that leaks confidential information can affect not only revenues but also damage brand reputation, disrupt the supply chain, or result in litigating actions.”

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most regulated industries in the world and due to the number of senstive and confidential data needed, cybersecurity presents itself as a dire topic to look into.

Jakimaviciute continues: “The importance of cybersecurity to pharma can be emphasized by taking a well-known example of Merck. The cyberattack that hit the pharma giant in June 2017 led to a disruption of Merk’s global operations, including manufacturing, research and sales. The impact on sales and remediation-related expenses between 2017 and 2018 totaled around $695m, while net insurance recovery was only around $45m.”

As a business becomes more technologically advanced, it begins to expose itself to higher levels of cyber risks. Jakimaviciute concludes: “Cybersecurity, cloud computing, blockchain and big data are correlated. Large data sets require the high level of security associated with data processing, transferring and storage. Even though the return on investment for the technologies such as cybersecurity may be hard to calculate as it rests on hypothetical situations, skipping out on it can become the biggest expense ever.”