Understanding Common Vulnerabilities Facing Life Sciences

As the?life sciences industry?evolves, so do the cybersecurity threats it faces. Cybercrime has risen dramatically in recent years, and life science organizations are increasingly the target of these cyber threats. Access to personal information and sensitive, proprietary business information make the life science industry an attractive option for cyber criminals.

However, being aware of critical vulnerabilities can help keep your organization a step ahead of those looking to exploit them. Below are some of the most common vulnerabilities facing the life sciences industry today.

Keeping Pace with Growth:

Life sciences organizations often undergo rapid growth as they transition from the investigational stage to market launch. A critical vulnerability comes when companies are unprepared to scale up their cybersecurity, compliance, and IT plans to match their growth.

Maintaining Compliance:

The high level of regulation in the life science industry can make?maintaining compliance?difficult. There are compliance rules and regulations on storing the organization’s data and the secure transference of said data to outside entities if needed. Due to these rules changing frequently, life sciences organizations must be ready to pivot quickly to maintain overall compliance.

Protecting Intellectual Property:

Intellectual property (IP) is invaluable to a life science organization. A?cybersecurity breach?that leads to the theft of IP can be detrimental to the organization’s market value and competitive stance. Reliance on external contractors and partners, who often have access to sensitive networks that house intellectual property, poses a significant potential vulnerability—especially for smaller partner organizations that may not have robust cybersecurity defenses and processes.

Business Continuity:

Is your organization prepared for the next major catastrophe it will face? Risks are particularly acute for the life sciences industries due to the nature of the data housed within them. While it isn’t always possible to anticipate future events that could threaten normal business functions, it is possible to create a plan preemptively to minimize the impact of these events and continue serving customers.

Want to keep your organization secure and protected? To learn more about these common vulnerabilities and the ways to combat them, read more here.?