The Life Sciences sector plays a pivotal role in advancing healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. With rapid digitisation, ensuring robust cybersecurity is no longer an option—it’s an imperative.
Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In this landscape, vulnerability assessments and penetration testing services have emerged as essential tools to safeguard sensitive data and mitigate the risk of security breaches.
As the industry continues to embrace technology, these digital assets become prime targets for cybercriminals.
Legacy equipment, regulatory requirements on validated and/or quality systems, geographically distributed plants often segmented from IT networks, and proprietary embedded devices combine to create barriers to successful vulnerability and security management in these environments.
Understanding Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing
Let’s clarify what vulnerability assessments and penetration tests entail:
Vulnerability Assessment:
Vulnerability assessments involve systematically scanning an organisation’s IT infrastructure and applications to identify weaknesses or vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber attackers. These vulnerabilities can range from outdated software to misconfigured systems, creating potential entry points for cyber threats. Vulnerability assessments provide a comprehensive view of your security posture and help prioritise remediation efforts.
Penetration Testing:
Penetration testing, on the other hand, is a more targeted, manual approach. It involves simulating real-world cyberattacks to assess an organisation’s ability to withstand such threats. Penetration testing helps identify security gaps that may not be apparent through a vulnerability assessment alone. It is often used in combination with a vulnerability assessment to verify the exploitability of the vulnerabilities found.
Benefits of a Vulnerability Assessment
1. Peace of Mind:
Knowing that you have taken proactive steps to secure your IT infrastructure provides peace of mind. It allows organisations to focus on their core activities without the constant worry of potential cyber threats.
2. Cost Savings:
Addressing vulnerabilities and weaknesses early can save organisations significant financial resources that would otherwise be spent on recovering from a security breach, such as incident response and legal fees.
3. Identifying and Prioritising Vulnerabilities:
Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit. Vulnerability assessments proactively discover these weaknesses, allowing organisations to address them before they become targets for malicious actors. Not all vulnerabilities are equal. Vulnerability assessments help you prioritise which vulnerabilities to address first based on their severity and potential impact on the business.
4. Regulatory Compliance:
The Life Sciences sector is heavily regulated, with stringent compliance requirements such as HIPAA, FDA, EMA and GDPR regulations. Vulnerability assessments and penetration tests help organisations meet these regulatory mandates and avoid costly penalties. Moreover, regular assessments ensure that sensitive information remains confidential and compliant with data protection regulations.
5. Cyber Resilience:
By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, companies can improve their security posture.
Assess the vulnerability of your company with ARCyberSec
ARCyberSEC is the vulnerability management package proposed by Arithmos.
Unlike a standalone vulnerability assessment which can identify an impractical, lengthy list of potential vulnerabilities, the ARCyberSEC package will rate the criticality of the vulnerabilities affecting your system and verify the exploitability of the vulnerabilities found. A combined automated scan and manual pentest can also identify combinations of weaknesses that together allow unauthorised access. The assessment can be scheduled annually, or following the implementation of new systems or significant modifications to your system, to mitigate the risk of a security breach and ensure compliance with security best practices.
How it works
1. We will scan your infrastructure and applications using a combination of static and dynamic application security testing tools (SAST and DAST) which will identify vulnerabilities such as Cross-site scripting, SQL Injection, Command Injection, Path Traversal and insecure server configuration.
2. Our team of experienced security consultants will review the findings of the scan, and conduct a targeted penetration test to verify the exploitability of the vulnerabilities identified.
3. You will receive a report summarising the key findings, with high-level recommendations aimed at board/executive level. The report will also list all identified vulnerabilities, along with a severity rating and recommended remedial actions for each finding.
Our extensive experience in the Life Sciences industry provides us with context and appreciation of your priorities, allowing us to focus on critical areas that will make your systems and processes more secure.
Thanks to the collaboration of our regulatory, quality assurance and information & cybersecurity teams, we offer a holistic approach to vulnerability management, from the initiation of scan to remediation.
The Life Sciences sector’s reliance on digital data and technology necessitates robust cybersecurity measures. Cybersecurity services are essential for identifying and addressing security weaknesses, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring regulatory compliance. By investing in these services, Life Sciences organisations can not only safeguard their invaluable data but also contribute to the broader goal of advancing healthcare and biotechnology in a secure and ethical manner.
Would you like to find out more about how our experts can support you and your company?
Author
Cosimo Barbiero, Manager, IO & AO Services
Cosimo Barbiero worked for more than ten years in the Life Science industry, for CROs and pharmaceutical companies, first as a Systems Engineer and then as an IT Infrastructure and Services Manager.
Since 2022 Cosimo has worked in Arithmos as Manager, IO & AO Services.
About Arithmos
We are Business and Technology experts in the Life Sciences industry.
We support pharmaceutical, biotechnology, nutraceutical, medical device, universities, hospitals and non-profit organisations to achieve Operational Excellence through Digital Transformation and value-added Business Services.
Our Lines of Business: Clinical, Regulatory, Quality, Pharmacovigilance, Medical Affairs.
