Are Digital Twins a Secret Healthcare Security Weapon?

Cyber attacks remain most potent where the leverage for ransom is the highest. Nowhere are the stakes higher than in the healthcare sector, which, unsurprisingly, is one of the most targeted sectors.

Research from the World Economic Forum's Centre for Cybersecurity reveals that, in addition to holding patient health and safety hostage, cyber attacks in the healthcare sector are among the most expensive, with average incidents costing US$7.42m.

Authored by Michael Siegel, Principal Research Scientist and Director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Dr Sander Zeijlemaker, MIT Sloan Cybersecurity Research Affiliate and Managing Director at Disem Institute, the research examines opportunities for cyber resilience as threats compound.

As healthcare organisations rapidly transform through digital innovation, services that were previously fragmented are now being integrated into centralised hubs.

Integrated digital health platforms, which gained popularity between 2020 and 2023, also follow this trend of centralisation, storing large quantities of data for advanced analytics that is used for personalised healthcare.

These trends, while improving patient care, also heighten risk exposure. The report reads: "Supply chain dependencies and third-party vulnerabilities create new entry points for adversaries, as evidenced by the sharp rise in supply chain attacks."

Like many other fields, healthcare is embracing robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostics and advanced medical devices to enhance the quality of care.

Emerging vulnerabilities with technology

Far from theory, related attacks have already had more than disruptive consequences, even contributing to the death of a patient due to delayed blood test results during an NHS ransomware attack in the UK in 2017.

According to the World Economic Forum research, nearly 70% of healthcare organisations reported patient care disruptions following cyber attacks.

More than half (56%) reported they had experienced delayed procedures and a quarter (28%) observed increased mortality risk, putting the severe impact of cyber attacks in perspective.

These findings underscore the critical nature of cybersecurity in healthcare settings, where the consequences extend far beyond financial losses to directly affect patient safety and clinical outcomes.

The interconnected nature of modern healthcare systems means that a single breach can cascade through multiple departments and services. When ransomware locks critical systems, clinical teams face impossible choices about resource allocation and patient prioritisation.

The financial burden of US$7.42m per incident represents not just recovery costs but lost revenue, regulatory penalties and long-term reputational damage.

Digital twins for cyber resilience

To prepare healthcare organisations against amplifying cyber threats, the MIT Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS) forum, in collaboration with Dutch national security and healthcare agency Zorg Computer Emergency Response Team (Z-CERT) and the European cyber and healthcare platform EU-Health Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (ISAC), developed a strategic digital twin.

Digital twins help mirror real-world hospital ecosystems by linking patient flows with enterprise architecture, staffing patterns and financial performance.

In the intricately interconnected ecosystems of healthcare, recognising interdependencies could prove critical to: "refine cyber-risk management strategies".

Sander and Michael say: "This gives leaders a safe, strategic environment to evaluate untested strategies, pressure-test investment decisions and sharpen organisational judgment without disrupting real-world operations or patient care."

Michael adds: "Interdependencies become visible, showing how decisions ripple across departments, partners and clinical pathways, while a dashboard can show how different strategies and budgets can be combined to defend against sophisticated ransomware threats and their relevant trade-offs."

The visualisation of threats through dashboards can help leaders make informed decisions that least affect patients, systems and healthcare operations.

Strategic planning through simulation

Digital twins help healthcare leaders and cybersecurity teams to develop cyber strategies by simulating various attack scenarios, which can be used to separate the most effective strategies from counterproductive ones.

Sander adds: "They enable executives to see how investment decisions cascade across the organisation through targeted simulations; to prioritise budgets for maximum impact, faster response and improved clinical capacity and to identify counterintuitive strategies that transform cyber-risk management into a value driver for patient safety and care delivery."

This approach allows healthcare executives to test resilience measures before committing resources, ensuring that cybersecurity investments align with clinical priorities.