Medical devices patients rely on most are least prepared for quantum attacks
Forescout found only 6% of medical devices support PQC-capable SSH, and 5,500 healthcare systems are exposed.
Forescout’s Post-Quantum Cryptography in Healthcare report analyzed more than 2.5 million devices across over 50 healthcare delivery networks. Only 6% of connected medical devices and 16% of OT devices ran SSH software capable of supporting post-quantum cryptography, compared with 50% of IT devices. Researchers also found more than 5,500 medical information systems exposed online, 46% electronic medical record platforms and 40% PACS, with average TLS 1.3 support of 31%. Separately, they tracked 461 public ransomware claims and 300 hacktivist claims against healthcare providers from January to August 2026, and warned that long-lived patient data is exposed to harvest-now, decrypt-later collection.
- Only 6% of medical devices and 16% of OT had PQC-capable SSH, versus 50% of IT.
- Study covered 2.5 million devices on more than 50 healthcare networks.
- Over 5,500 medical information systems were exposed online; EMR 46%, PACS 40%.
- Average TLS 1.3 support among exposed system types was 31%.
- Researchers tracked 461 ransomware and 300 hacktivist claims against healthcare in 2026.
From the original article
3 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
Threat actors are exploiting IT, IoMT, OT and IoT devices across healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) to deploy ransomware, demand payments and monetize stolen patient data, according to Forescout’s Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) in Healthcare: From Data Risk to Migration Readiness report. Researchers analyzed a dataset containing more than 2. 5 million devices across more than 50 HDO networks.
By Anamarija Pogorelec · helpnetsecurity.com
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