The Healthcare Cybersecurity Landscape Is Evolving
Healthcare agencies face extraordinary security challenges in 2025. Traditional security measures are proving inadequate as operational technology ( OT ) environments become more targeted and the convergence of IT and medical systems give rise to an expanded attack surface. In 2024, the healthcare industry experienced a record-breaking time for information breaches, with over 133 million patient information exposed, according to current statistics. The average cost of a healthcare data breach has now reached$ 11 million, making it the most expensive industry for breaches.
The emphasis of intruders has drastically changed. Cybercriminals are now targeting the true devices that provide patient care, not content with simply capturing patient records. The margins have never been higher, with malware today representing 71 % of all attacks against healthcare companies and causing an average interruption of 11 times per occurrence.
Improved security settings are Required by New Regulatory Frameworks.
Healthcare organizations are now subject to stricter regulatory standards that particularly mandate network segmentation. The updated, published in December 2024 and expected to be implemented quickly, has eliminated the difference between “addressable” and “required” development features. All protection measures, including network segmentation, will become requirements rather than just additional factors.
Healthcare organizations are now required to implement technical controls to “reasonably and appropriately segment their electronic information systems” in accordance with section 45 CFR 164.312 ( a ) ( 2 ) (vi). This means creating clear boundaries between administrative and IT systems to minimize risks from dangers like phishing attacks and prevent lateral movement within networks.
In line with HHS 405 ( d ), guidelines now outline voluntary cybersecurity practices that specifically advise network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure and protect crucial systems and data. In today’s increasingly interconnected healthcare environment, basic security measures are no longer optional but necessary for protecting electronic protected health information ( PHI). These regulations reflect this trend.
Bridging the Gap Between IT Security and Medical Device Teams
The standard conflict between IT protection teams and medical engineering/biomedical teams liable for medical devices is one of the most significant challenges in medical security. Each group has its own objectives, level of expertise, and functional workflows:
IT surveillance teams focus on risk management, security policy enforcement, and compliance reporting, while medical engineering teams prioritize device functionality, patient safety, and health equipment uptime.
This conflict leads to gaps in the protection position of healthcare organizations. In addition, many clinics use custom or outdated operating systems that do not support conventional security officials. However, medical teams maintain independent inventory systems that don’t connect with IT security platforms, creating visibility gaps for unregulated devices.
Because we don’t have manufacturing specifically designed to address and manage those equipment, Aaron Weismann, Chief Information Security Officer at Main Line Health, describes this problem. Elisity also adds a layer of defense and risk reduction that we wouldn’t normally have in our environment.
The Integrated Elisity and Armis Solution: A Comprehensive Approach
A strong surveillance platform that addresses these issues head-on is the result of Armis CentrixTM’s integration with Elisity’s platform. Healthcare organizations may achieve real zero-trust structures while maintaining operational efficiency by combining complete asset intelligence with Elisity’s powerful capabilities.
Comprehensive Asset Discovery and Intelligence
Without requiring agents or destructive scanning, the included solution offers unmatched visibility across all connected devices, including managed, unregulated, health, and IoT. The answer quickly discovers and classifies every machine on the community, including those that traditional surveillance tools miss, using an Asset Intelligence Engine with knowledge of over 5 billion devices.
The platform detects and profiles devices ranging from infusion pumps and MRI machines to building systems like HVAC units —anything connected to the network. The solution gathers crucial information for each device, including make, model, operating system, location, connections, FDA classification, and risk factors.
Weismann points out that” Armis and Elisity have really been able to lead to a more thorough understanding of our security posture and how we’re putting policies into practice across the board.”
Identity-Based Microsegmentation
Elisity offers identity-based microsegmentation through its cloud-delivered policy management platform, which allows for integration with existing network infrastructure without the need for additional hardware, agents, VLANs, or complex ACLs. The Elisity IdentityGraphTM, a comprehensive device, user, workload, identity, and attribute database, is enhanced by the seamless integration.
Leveraging detailed asset information ( including risk score, boundaries, device type, manufacturer, model, OS, firmware version, and network segment ), Elisity enables precise, context-aware security policies across the network.
Weismann describes the real-world advantages:” We now have the ability to apply policies to all users, workloads, and devices when they appear on networks, and we can do so with the assurance that we won’t harm systems or users.”
Dynamic Policy Enforcement and Automation
The joint solution allows security teams to rapidly implement least privilege access through pre-built policy templates or highly granular, dynamic microsegmentation policies that automatically adapt based on device risk levels.
Weismann says it’s brilliant to use our current combination of Cisco and Juniper switches as policy enforcement points because we know our network will remain HA, high performance, and we don’t need to alter or add choke points to our existing network architecture.
Elisity Dynamic Policy Engine enables security teams to:
- Create, simulate, and enforce policies that prevent lateral movement
- policies that are dynamically updated based on real-time intelligence
- Apply least-privilege access without causing operational disruption across users, workloads, and devices.
- Automatically adapt to changing risk levels
Main Line Health: A Success Story
The transformational potential of the integrated solution is demonstrated by Main Line Health’s implementation of the integrated solution. The healthcare system recently earned both the CIO 100 Award for 2025 and the CSO 50 Award in 2024 for their innovative cybersecurity implementation.
According to Aaron Weismann,” Armis and Elisity’s synergy has strengthened defenses against targeted cyber threats, improving overall operational efficiency with additional layers of security and visibility.” The key to accelerating our Zero Trust program is” Microsegmentation.”
Main Line Health deployed the solution across their entire enterprise—from outpatient facilities to acute care hospitals. What most impressed them was how quickly the implementation went:” We were able to deploy Elisity at one of our sites in just hours, and by the next day, we were creating and implementing blocking rules. The execution was carried out with incredible speed.
The integration created a powerful security framework that enabled Main Line Health to:
- Every user, workload, and device across their networks is accessible and viewed.
- Gain a comprehensive look at over 100, 000 IoT, OT, and IoMT devices.
- Enable dynamic security policies that adapt to changing vulnerabilities
- Deliver a frictionless implementation that made their security roadmap more accessible.
- abide by regulations like HIPAA and HiTrust.
One revealing insight from their implementation was that their non-traditional computing environment ( biomedical devices, IoMT, IoT, OT ) vastly outnumbered their traditional IT assets. This made it more important to use a security strategy that could handle the particular difficulties of these specialized devices.
Measureable outcomes and advantages
Organizations implementing the integrated solution have experienced significant improvements in their security posture and operational efficiency:
Attack Surface Visibility and Coverage
The solution guarantees 99 % of all users, workloads, and devices across IT, IoT, OT, and IoMT environments, including discovery and visibility. This comprehensive visibility closes security gaps and eliminates blind spots, especially for unmanaged devices that traditional security tools miss.
Reduced Breach Containment and Risk
Organizations can use identity-based least privilege access to narrow the blast radius of attacks, contain breaches more effectively, and stop lateral movement, a method that is employed in over 70 % of successful breaches. This approach is particularly effective against ransomware, which has become the dominant threat to healthcare organizations.
Simplified reporting and compliance
Through comprehensive asset visibility and policy documentation, the solution simplifies compliance with frameworks like HIPAA, NIST 800-207, and IEC 62443. Automated reporting capabilities enable faster audits with push-button reports per user, workload, and device.
Operational Efficiency
The joint solution, perhaps the most important, allows healthcare organizations to implement microsegmentation without compromising clinical operations. It can be done in weeks rather than years. As GSK’s CISO Michael Elmore notes,” Elisity’s deployment at GSK is nothing short of revolutionary, making every other solution pale in comparison”.
Looking Forward to the upcoming healthcare security crisis
The evolution of healthcare cybersecurity will be influenced by a number of trends as we move forward in 2025 and beyond:
AI-Driven Security and Response
Security solutions based on AI are becoming more sophisticated, enabling more precise threat identification and automated response. Organizations can stay ahead of emerging threats thanks to the integrated solution’s predictive analytics and early warning capabilities.
Seamless IT-OT Integration
With more comprehensive security coverage across all connected systems, the convergence of IT and OT security will continue to grow. This trend is best demonstrated by the integration, which gives a comprehensive view of the entire healthcare device ecosystem.
Supply Chain Security
Securing the supply chain has come to be a top priority as 62 % of data breaches in healthcare are due to third-party attacks. Advanced microsegmentation capabilities enable stronger controls over third-party network access, thereby reducing this growing risk vector.
Zero Trust Implementation
We’re Living In The Golden Age Of Microsegmentation, according to Forrester Research’s recent statement in their Forrester WaveTM: Microsegmentation Solutions report. This strategy is crucial for minimizing the impact of east-west attacks in healthcare settings and preventing lateral movement.
The Path Forward for Healthcare Security Leaders
The integrated solution provides a strong foundation for comprehensive protection for healthcare organizations looking to improve their security posture in 2025. Important things security leaders should take into account are the following:
Assessment Phase
Compare your current network architecture to the new regulatory standards, focusing on those areas that might require more segmentation controls. Consider your organization’s unique risk profile and how it complies with the most recent HIPAA security rule requirements.
Planning Phase
Create a gradual implementation strategy that addresses urgent compliance requirements while pursuing a thorough segmentation strategy. Take into account both technical requirements and operational impacts, making sure that security improvements don’t obstruct crucial healthcare services.
Implementation Considerations
Work with solution providers who are knowledgeable about the challenges faced by healthcare and have experience demonstrating successful implementations in other settings. The ideal partner should have both technical expertise and a thorough understanding of healthcare’s regulatory requirements.
As Aaron Weismann aptly summarizes:” We’re certainly able to sleep easier at night, especially as we see larger and larger ransomware attacks hit the healthcare vertical. We undoubtedly don’t want to suffer from that, so anything we can do to lessen the potential effects of a cyberattack that could result in a ransomware attack will give us peace of mind.
Healthcare organizations can change their approach to security by implementing the integrated solution, which will allow them to comply with regulatory requirements while adapting to the changing threat landscape of 2025 and beyond.
To guide your journey toward effective microsegmentation, download Elisity’s comprehensive 2025. This essential resource provides security leaders with important evaluation criteria, in-depth comparison frameworks, and practical implementation strategies that have helped businesses in the manufacturing and healthcare sectors achieve measurable ROI. The guide provides a clear list of questions to ask potential vendors, provides a clear-cut comparison between contemporary and traditional approaches, and provides guidance on how to create a compelling business case ($ 3.50 for every dollar invested ). Whether you’re just beginning your microsegmentation journey or looking to enhance your existing implementation, this definitive guide will help you navigate the selection process with confidence and accelerate your path to Zero Trust maturity.