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Healthcare networks are sprawling, hybrid, and increasingly targeted. Acalvio uses AI-powered deception to detect adversary behavior early—across identity systems, clinical apps, and cloud workloads—without adding risk to care delivery.
Uncover Hidden Attack Paths and Exposures
  • Map and close attack vectors to EHRs, imaging archives, and connected medical devices before adversaries exploit them.
Diagnose Identity-Based Attacks Early
  • Diagnose Identity-Based Attacks Early
See Insider Threats with Scalpel-Like Precision
  • Spot unauthorized access to PHI, billing systems, and provider tools using decoys tailored for healthcare environments.
Defend Against AI-Enhanced Malware
  • Lure evasive threats into decoy apps and cloud workloads to detect ransomware and novel malware

The Honeytokens Case Study for Healthcare

Discover how Acalvio’s deception-based ITDR delivered scalable, silent, and precise identity threat detection across a complex healthcare network without disrupting clinical workflows or overwhelming security teams.

Read the Case Study
Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP)
An essential part of a comprehensive security posture

The Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) Technical Volume 2, released by the Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council, posits cyber deception as an essential part of a comprehensive security posture.

This technical volume guides how Healthcare Delivery Organizations (HDOs) can implement cyber deception techniques like honeypots, honeytokens, and other decoys to strengthen their defense strategy. Several government standards organizations require or recommend active defense and deception, including:

  • The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act
  • NIST SP 800-172,
  • The CISA 2022 – 2026 Strategic Technology Roadmap
Uncover Hidden Attack Paths and Exposures
Healthcare IT is layered, fragmented, and full of soft spots: Map the attacker’s view.
  • Identify shadow admins, unmanaged systems, and stale credentials
  • Expose attack paths across hybrid AD, cloud, and legacy EHRs
  • Deploy deception to monitor exposed identity and infrastructure assets
  • Reduce exposure without relying on scanning or endpoint agents
Diagnose Identity-Based Attacks Early
Credential misuse is how most attacks begin and stealth by undetected.
  • Catch misuse of service accounts and session artifacts
  • Detect privilege escalation and lateral movement via decoy engagement
  • Deploy honeytokens in clinical, administrative, and cloud systems
  • Trigger alerts only on real attacker behavior and not anomalies
See Insider Threats with Scalpel-Like Precision
Collect clear evidence of intent without profiling staff behavior
  • Deploy fake patient records, billing files, and admin tools as traps
  • Detect attempts to access sensitive data outside approved workflows
  • Identify malicious behavior based on interaction, not user baselines
  • Capture defensible telemetry to accelerate investigation and containment
Defend Against AI-Enhanced Malware in Healthcare
When malware adapts faster than signatures, deception makes it visible.
  • Detect polymorphic, fileless, and AI-generated malware
  • Catch ransomware staging activity before encryption begins
  • Lure evasive malware targeting clinical endpoints and portals
  • Feed verified alerts into SOC tools for automated response
Acalvio Healthcare Protection
Illustration of a multi-story hospital with callouts highlighting cybersecurity and data risks. On the left: an envelope with a phishing hook labeled ‘Social engineering’ and a briefcase and workstation labeled ‘Loss or theft of equipment or data.’ On the right: a laptop screen showing ‘Your files are encrypted!’ labeled ‘Ransomware attack,’ a medical monitor icon labeled ‘Attacks against network connected medical devices that may affect patient safety,’ and a grid of missing files on a monitor labeled ‘Insider, accidental or intentional data loss.
Strategic Technology Roadmap for Deception Technology and Zero Trust

By overlaying the organization’s computing environment with decoys that lure attackers away from real data, cyber deception not only confuses the attacker but also alerts security teams about every move they make.

Regardless of size or specialty, Healthcare Delivery Organizations (HDOs) are a prime target for cybercriminals due to their rich trove of sensitive data. Acalvio provides active defense solutions that form the backbone of cyber deception, equipping HDOs with powerful tools to disrupt attacks, provide early warning of intrusions, and minimize the impact of successful attacks.

Deception Use Cases for Healthcare Services

ShadowPlex enables early, accurate threat detection across your most critical systems, assets, and operations.

Credential and Identity Attacks icon
Uncover Unauthorized Credential Use

Use honeytokens and deceptive credentials embedded in identity stores and endpoints to detect unauthorized access attempts.

Active Directory Signals icon
Protect Patient Databases and Applications

Protect Patient Databases and Applications Use realistic decoys to emulate EMRs, billing systems, and patient portals: see unauthorized access attempts without risking real data.

Lateral Movement and Privilege Escalation icon
Catch Privilege Escalation and Lateral Moves

Trap attackers probing AD, Kerberos, or unmanaged SPNs as they attempt to move through the network or elevate access.

Insider Threats icon
Expose Insider Threats Before They Escalate

Deploy baits that expose suspicious or malicious insider behavior targeting patient data, proprietary systems, or healthcare records.

Ransomware icon
Reveal AI-Driven and Zero-Day Malware and Ransomware

Surface never-before-seen malware, including AI-generated or polymorphic variants, by detecting interaction, not signatures.

Map Early Threat Activity to MITRE ATT&CK icon
Reduce Your Active Directory Attack Surface

Automatically map exposed AD paths, shadow admins, and stale credentials, then block exploitation with deception-driven containment.

Multi-Cloud Detection icon
Secure Cloud-Hosted Clinical Systems

Use agentless cloud deceptions to detect identity misuse, misconfigurations, and cloud-native threats targeting healthcare apps and storage.

Real-Time Threat Insights icon
Accelerate Triage With High-Fidelity Alerts

Deliver intent-driven, triaged alerts with rich forensic evidence, reducing noise and accelerating response for time-sensitive attacks.

Cloud Identity Threat Defense icon
Detect Data Exfiltration Attempts

Identify access to decoy records and fake data stores, revealing unauthorized attempts to steal protected health information or proprietary systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

The top cybersecurity threats in healthcare include ransomware attacks, data breaches, and phishing, which compromise critical patient data and disrupt care. Insider threats, vulnerabilities in connected medical devices, and third-party risks further expose healthcare systems to exploitation. To protect sensitive data and ensure operational continuity, healthcare organizations must implement robust cybersecurity strategies.

Cyber deception strengthens healthcare cybersecurity by enabling early threat detection through honeypots and decoy systems, which lure attackers and reduce their dwell time in networks. It enhances threat intelligence by analyzing attacker behavior, improving threat hunting, and providing insights into tactics and vulnerabilities. Deception improves the security posture by adding a layered defense, diverting attackers to decoys, and reducing the attack surface. With faster incident response and cost-effective security measures, it minimizes breaches’ impact, protects patient data, and builds resilience against cyber threats.

Acalvio ShadowPlex is ideal for healthcare organizations due to its visibility, providing unique insights into how attackers view endpoints, reach critical assets, and exploit misconfigurations to reduce the attack surface. It delivers advanced threat detection through realistic deceptions like decoys and breadcrumbs, generating high-fidelity alerts and forensic data when engaged. ShadowPlex enhances investigation capabilities with AI-driven threat hunting and proactive identification of dormant threats, offering a novel approach to understanding adversary behavior. With automated response and seamless integration with existing security tools, it enables real-time threat containment, isolation, and asset protection to safeguard sensitive healthcare systems.

While no regulations explicitly endorse cyber deception, key frameworks indirectly support its use by emphasizing robust security for sensitive patient data. HIPAA requires safeguards to protect PHI, where deception can serve as a technical measure to enhance security. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework aligns deception techniques with its core functions like Detect, Respond, and Recover, while the HITECH Act supports protecting electronic health records (EHRs). Additionally, GDPR emphasizes strong data protection, where deception can help safeguard sensitive personal data from cyber threats.

Acalvio’s deception technology plays a crucial role in defending against ransomware by detecting it at any stage of the kill chain. Acalvio uses purpose-built deceptions, such as ransomware detection baits, to identify encryption activities and detect known, zero-day, and unknown ransomware. Upon infiltration, the solution generates a high-fidelity incident with detailed evidence of the attack, enabling immediate response. Automated notifications and response actions, integrated with existing SOC workflows, help streamline the defense process.

Cybersecurity in healthcare is a critical investment due to the sensitive nature of patient data. Healthcare organizations handle a wealth of personal information, including medical records, financial details, and social security numbers. Cyberattacks on healthcare systems can lead to data breaches, identity theft, and significant financial losses. By investing in robust cybersecurity measures, healthcare organizations can protect patient privacy, maintain operational continuity, and avoid costly legal repercussions.

Built for Healthcare Services. Focused on Preemptive Defense

Early Detection Without Operational Risk

Surface attacker behavior across clinical, admin, and cloud systems: no agents, performance impact, or compliance overhead.

Faster, Clearer Investigations and Response

Reduce alert noise and accelerate triage with high-fidelity, intent-based signals that give your team the full picture—no guesswork required.

Scalable Defense for Hybrid Healthcare Environments

Protect on-prem and cloud workloads, medical IoT, and third-party systems with deception that adapts to healthcare’s complexity and scale.

The ShadowPlex Portfolio of Products

Acalvio is the leader in Cyber Deception technology, built on over 25 issued patents in Autonomous Deception and advanced AI. The Acalvio Active Defense Platform provides robust Identity Protection, Advanced Threat Defense, and Threat Hunting products. Attackers Don’t Stop at the Edge. Neither Should You.

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Gartner® names Acalvio a Tech Innovator in Preemptive Cybersecurity.