By By Dan Hounsell

Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare organizations have suffered a barrage of cyberattacks designed to capitalize on the strain facilities have been operating under. The goal of cybercriminals has been to extort healthcare firms for financial gain, as well as steal vital patient data relating to COVID-19 vaccine research.

In most cases, attackers sent emails that contained malware or phishing links, according to IT Pro Portal. But a new report from application security firm Veracode suggests that many healthcare apps also have a range of bugs that hackers could exploit.

Analyzing 130,000 apps for the report, Veracode found that three-quarters contain at least one flaw. Of that number, 26 percent suffer from high-severity flaws that could allow for remote code execution or result in data theft or financial losses.

The company also said it believes the number and sophistication of the attacks will increase, due in part to the fact that healthcare organizations hold an increasingly large amount of valuable patient data, as well as data related to the creation and distribution of vaccines.