Industries · Healthcare · Canada and USA

Cybersecurity for clinics, hospitals and health networks.

Patient records, imaging systems and connected medical devices, protected by Sophos and sized by a partner that serves healthcare providers across Canada and the United States.

In plain terms: Healthcare is breached through two doors: ransomware crews who know a hospital cannot wait to restore, and ordinary staff mistakes with patient records. The defense has to cover both, and it has to keep the EHR, imaging and devices running while it does.

Sophos Silver Partner. Offices in Markham, Ontario and Dallas, Texas. Quotes in CAD and USD, shipping to Canada and the United States.

The risk in numbers

What the breach data says about this sector. Every figure links to its source at the foot of the page.

61%
of healthcare breaches were System Intrusion, the ransomware pattern
Verizon 2026 DBIR
54%
involved the human element: misdelivery, lost devices, misconfiguration
Verizon 2026 DBIR
32%
involved a third party such as a billing, imaging or IT vendor
Verizon 2026 DBIR
20%
began with an exploited vulnerability, ahead of phishing at 14%
Verizon 2026 DBIR

1,492 incidents and 1,438 confirmed breaches in the healthcare vertical, Verizon 2026 DBIR.

How an attack unfolds here, and where Sophos stops it

The same four stages appear in nearly every breach. Each stage below shows what it looks like in this sector and the control that breaks the chain.

1Entry
What happensUnpatched VPN or a phished login
What stops itXGS firewall with IPS and TLS inspection; Sophos Email Plus; ITDR flags MFA gaps
2Foothold
What happensAttacker lands on a workstation or server
What stops itSophos Endpoint blocks exploits and ransomware behavior
3Spread
What happensMoves toward the EHR, PACS and file servers
What stops itNDR sees lateral movement; firewall segmentation keeps devices on their own VLANs
4Impact
What happensEncryption, data theft, extortion
What stops itMDR Plus analysts isolate and respond 24/7; Cove backup restores

What is at risk in healthcare

Ransomware against the EHR and imaging

Attackers pick healthcare because downtime is measured in canceled procedures. The DBIR puts System Intrusion at 61% of healthcare breaches, and 99% of actors are financially motivated.

Unpatched edge devices

VPN concentrators, remote access gateways and patient portals are the most common way in. Exploited vulnerabilities (20%) now beat phishing (14%) as the first step.

Staff error with patient records

Misdelivered records, unencrypted laptops and misconfigured shares stay on the DBIR list every year. They are breaches under HIPAA and PHIPA even when no attacker is involved.

Third-party access

Billing companies, imaging vendors and IT providers hold standing access. A third party was involved in 32% of healthcare breaches.

Medical devices that cannot run an agent

Infusion pumps, imaging modalities and lab analyzers run old firmware. They need network-level detection and segmentation, not endpoint software.

What you have to comply with

The rules and expectations that shape a security purchase in this sector, in both countries. Status is as of September 2026; check the linked source before relying on a date.

WhereRule or expectationWhat it asks for
United StatesHIPAA Security Rule (proposed update, January 2025)Encryption of ePHI, MFA, annual asset inventory, vulnerability scanning every six months, 72-hour restoration capability. Still a proposal as of September 2026; HHS targets finalization in 2027. Source
United StatesHHS 405(d) Health Industry Cybersecurity PracticesVoluntary practices HHS uses as the yardstick after a breach: email protection, endpoint protection, access management, network management, incident response. Source
Canada, OntarioO. Reg. 51/26, Enhancing Digital Security and Trust ActPublic hospitals must name a senior cyber contact, report critical incidents within 72 hours, and file a cyber maturity assessment by July 1, 2027, then every two years. In force July 1, 2026. Source
CanadaPHIPA (Ontario) and provincial health privacy actsCustodians must safeguard personal health information and notify the commissioner and patients of breaches. Source

The Sophos stack for healthcare

Each product is tagged with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 function it serves, so the list can go straight onto a questionnaire.

Protect

Sophos XGS firewall

IPS, TLS inspection and VLAN segmentation for devices that cannot be patched; SD-WAN between clinics.

See Sophos XGS firewall →
Respond

Sophos MDR Plus

24/7 analysts with response authority, which is the control HHS and PHIPA regulators ask about after an incident.

See Sophos MDR Plus →
Protect

Sophos Endpoint

CryptoGuard stops encryption in progress on workstations and servers; device control blocks unknown USB media.

See Sophos Endpoint →
Detect

Sophos NDR

Detects lateral movement and rogue devices on the clinical network without touching the devices.

See Sophos NDR →
Protect

Sophos Email Plus

Impersonation and link protection for the mailboxes that handle referrals and records requests.

See Sophos Email Plus →
Detect

Sophos ITDR

Finds accounts without MFA, dormant staff logins and privileged sprawl in Entra ID and Active Directory.

See Sophos ITDR →
Recover

N-able Cove backup

Immutable backup for Microsoft 365 and servers, the 72-hour restoration control in the HIPAA proposal.

See N-able Cove backup →

A worked example: a multi-site clinic group

A clinic group with a main site, three satellite clinics, about 120 staff and an on-premises EHR server would typically run:

WhereWhat runs there
Main site and EHR serversXGS 2300 with Xstream, Sophos Endpoint on servers and PCs, MDR Plus
Three satellite clinicsXGS 118 or 128 with Xstream, AP6 access points, SD-WAN to the main site
Imaging and lab devicesOwn VLAN behind the firewall, NDR sensor watching it
Every mailboxSophos Email Plus plus MFA, ITDR watching the directory
Records and Microsoft 365Cove backup with a tested restore

Licenses are sold in 1, 2 or 3-year terms or month to month through Nuformat. Hardware is bought outright or as Hardware as a Service. Every quote states the currency.

Get this sized and quoted for your organization

Send us your site list, user count and any questionnaire you have been given. A Nuformat specialist maps the products to it and returns a quote within two to three business days.

Available in Canada and the USA. Sophos Silver Partner.

Frequently asked questions

Does Sophos make a clinic HIPAA or PHIPA compliant?

No product does on its own. HIPAA and PHIPA are obligations on the organization. Sophos supplies the technical safeguards those rules ask for: encryption in transit, MFA and access monitoring, malware protection, logging, and the ability to restore. Nuformat maps the products to the safeguard list so the paperwork matches the network.

What is the most common way healthcare organizations are breached?

According to the Verizon 2026 DBIR healthcare snapshot, System Intrusion, which is mostly ransomware, accounts for 61% of healthcare breaches, and exploited vulnerabilities (20%) are now the most common first step, ahead of phishing (14%).

How do we protect medical devices that cannot run security software?

Put them on their own network segment behind the Sophos XGS firewall, allow only the traffic they need, and watch that segment with a Sophos NDR sensor. Detection then happens on the wire, so the device itself is never touched.

What does the Ontario cyber regulation require of hospitals?

O. Reg. 51/26, in force July 1, 2026, requires public hospitals to name a senior cyber security contact, report critical incidents to the ministry within 72 hours, and submit a cyber maturity assessment by July 1, 2027 and every two years after that.

Can Nuformat quote for both Canadian and US clinics?

Yes. Nuformat is a Sophos Silver Partner with offices in Markham, Ontario and Dallas, Texas, quotes in CAD or USD, and ships to both countries.