Managed service providers (MSPs) hold a unique position within healthcare infrastructure by managing information technology (IT) resources, networks, and data. Because MSPs operate centrally and commonly oversee multiple healthcare clients simultaneously, a single successful attack on an MSP can cascade into widespread breaches, compounding the potential damage and making MSPs highly attractive targets for cybercriminals.
Healthcare data breaches have consistently dominated breach statistics for over a decade, one study published in Healthcare notes the healthcare sector accounting for approximately 61.55% of all recorded data breaches in one 15-year analysis, from 2005 to 2019, far surpassing education and government sectors. MSPs, as service providers managing healthcare IT environments, inevitably inherit this risk profile due to their deep access privileges and interconnectivity across healthcare systems, including electronic health records (EHR).
MSPs in healthcare act as integrators and optimizers of resources. They implement technologies like Vendor Management Systems (VMS) to streamline the recruitment and management of temporary clinical and non-clinical staff, a necessity given the frequent shortages and high turnover in healthcare roles such as traveling nurses.
A Cureus study found, “With the increasing use of information technology in healthcare, enormous amounts of data are managed through these systems. Hospital information systems, especially electronic health records (EHRs), contain health-related data and personal and financial information.” When MSPs manage these interconnected systems, they don’t just coordinate staffing, they also safeguard sensitive information that becomes a target for cybercriminals.
This talent pool management directly influences the quality and continuity of patient care. MSPs harness automation and deep data analytics to reduce administrative burdens and speed up placing qualified healthcare professionals where they are most needed.
As “protecting data and preventing data breaches is the top advantage of cybersecurity in healthcare and is mentioned by 96% of the participants, followed by compliance with regulations (91.7%) and reduced disruptions in operations (69%),” MSPs face mounting pressure to deliver staffing efficiency and guarantee security and compliance as part of their value proposition.
By overseeing credentialing, compliance checks, scheduling, and performance metrics, MSPs function as centralized hubs that align staffing logistics with organizational goals and regulatory requirements.
Yet this centralization also magnifies the stakes. “Ninety-six percent of participants anticipated increased risk of data breaches, financial/legal penalties for hospitals (79%), and patient safety concerns (65%) without cybersecurity measures.” In other words, a single breach of an MSP’s systems doesn’t just slow down workforce management.
The above mentioned Healthcare study noted that healthcare data breach incidents from 2005 to 2019 reveal that the healthcare sector has been the most targeted, accounting for over 61% of all data breach cases across multiple industries and exposing nearly 250 million sensitive records during that period. Notably, from 2015 to 2019, hacking and IT-related incidents surged dramatically, comprising around 90% of exposed health records.
The most prevalent breach types in healthcare include hacking, unauthorized internal disclosures, theft/loss of records, and improper disposal, with hacking/IT incidents showing the sharpest increase in recent years, especially from 2016 to 2019, contributing to over 80% of hacking breaches in that four-year span alone. These cyberattacks exploit vulnerabilities presented by the widespread adoption of connected medical devices, telemedicine platforms, and digital health applications.
Healthcare systems typically integrate legacy software and diverse medical devices with varying degrees of security controls, creating challenges for MSPs tasked with safeguarding the entire ecosystem. As one Frontiers review ‘Hospital cybersecurity risks and gaps: Review (for the non-cyber professional)’ notes, “Medicine's growing reliance on technology is introducing innovative risks” with threats ranging from cloud storage vulnerabilities to AI-driven diagnostic systems.
MSPs often manage these heterogeneous environments with varying degrees of cybersecurity maturity, sometimes lacking sufficient resources or expertise to secure remote management tools and client networks fully. These gaps can become entry points for ransomware, malware, or phishing-facilitated breaches.
Phishing alone accounted for “57% of healthcare cyber incidents in 2020, a sharp increase from 32% just 4 years prior.” Telehealth systems depend on internet-connected devices and patient portals that may lack local protections, increasing susceptibility to man-in-the-middle attacks or unauthorized access. Even in well-prepared organizations, “30% of phishing attacks are successful,”.
Cloud services for data storage and sharing, while beneficial for accessibility, introduce risks through internet connectivity, making infiltration easier for attackers exploiting network vulnerabilities. The healthcare sector already suffers disproportionately, as “by 2019, 24% of cyberattacks were in the healthcare industry,” and “the number of healthcare breaches filed per year in the United States has more than tripled in the past decade.”
MSPs are gateways to these digital assets; any lapse in MSP security potentially undermines healthcare data confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Healthcare MSPs frequently operate within supply chains involving numerous third-party vendors, software providers, and hardware manufacturers. These intertwined relationships create multiple entry points for cyber attackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in the supply chain to compromise MSPs and their healthcare clients. One instance is when the DragonForce ransomware gang exploited vulnerabilities in the SimpleHelp remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool, a widely used MSP platform, to launch a supply chain attack. Supply chain attacks often target the software or hardware components integrated into healthcare IT environments remotely managed or supported by MSPs.
Medical devices increasingly connected to healthcare networks form a major attack vector that cyber threat actors exploit to gain access through MSP managed environments. MSPs often oversee networks where heterogeneous medical devices reside, many of which operate with outdated or insecure firmware, weak authentication, and protocols lacking encryption. New cybersecurity tools developed under the ARPA-H DIGIHEALS program uncovered serious flaws in widely used hospital patient monitoring systems.
These findings triggered a January 30th FDA safety communication and a technical advisory from CISA. Attackers exploit these vulnerabilities to infiltrate MSPs’ networks by compromising like devices or leveraging device communications as stepping stones. Once inside, they can escalate privileges, move laterally, or sabotage operations by altering device functions, disrupting monitoring, or corrupting patient data.
Despite advances in automated defenses, attackers frequently bypass technological barriers by manipulating MSP employees and healthcare staff who often have privileged access to sensitive systems and data. The HHS's Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) identified the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider as a high-risk actor leveraging AI-enabled social engineering, to target MSPs and healthcare organizations.
Phishing, spear-phishing, pretexting, and baiting schemes are commonly used to trick MSP workers or healthcare personnel into divulging login credentials, downloading malware, or authorizing remote access. Given the urgency and high-paced nature of healthcare environments, attacks exploiting cognitive overload or insufficient cybersecurity training have a higher likelihood of success.
See also: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide (2025 Update)
A Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) focuses specifically on cybersecurity services, including monitoring, threat detection, incident response, and compliance.
MSPs deliver general IT services such as system maintenance, backups, and user support, while MSSPs specialize in securing those systems against cyber threats.
Yes. Many organizations use MSPs for IT operations and MSSPs for advanced security monitoring and incident response. Some providers offer hybrid MSP/MSSP services.