How Cybercriminals Test Digital Access Security in Healthcare Provider Organizations 

What Healthcare Provider Organizations Can Learn From a Cybercriminal's Perspective

I don't need every opportunity. I only need the ones that work.

You see a patient creating an account. I see a process. You see a login. I see a path to access. Every digital interaction tells me something.

This may sound unfamiliar, but understanding digital access security often begins by understanding how cybercriminals evaluate digital experiences differently than healthcare organizations.

Why Healthcare Cybercriminal Activity Matters

Healthcare provider organizations are operating in a digital environment that continues to grow in size, complexity and risk.

Every day, you face expanding digital activity and increasingly sophisticated cybercriminal tactics and automation. In 2025, the global LexisNexis® Digital Identity Network® analyzed more than 116 billion digital transactions worldwide, a 12% increase year over year.

As cybercriminal activity evolves, understanding how suspicious activity emerges across digital experiences becomes increasingly important.

How Cybercriminals May View Your Digital Experiences

You design digital experiences with patients in mind. Your goal is to help legitimate patients complete tasks as efficiently and securely as possible.

Cybercriminals often evaluate those same experiences differently.

When you review a patient portal registration process, you may focus on enrollment rates, usability and patient adoption. A cybercriminal may evaluate the same experience differently, looking at how access is granted, what information is required and which controls might be tested.

When you review password recovery, you may focus on convenience and patient digital access. A cybercriminal may look for opportunities to gain access to an account while appearing legitimate.

You and a cybercriminal may be evaluating the same digital experience. The difference is perspective.

What Is Healthcare Digital Access Security?

Digital access security helps healthcare provider organizations determine whether the person, device or activity requesting access is what it appears to be during a digital interaction.

A login may appear legitimate. An account creation attempt may look routine. A password reset may follow the expected process. The challenge is determining whether the person, device and activity behind the interaction should be granted access.

Examples of digital access security risks may include:

• Account takeover
• Identity fraud
• Credential abuse
• Identity spoofing
• Device spoofing
• Bot activity
• High-risk proxy activity
• Unauthorized access

Many forms of cybercriminal activity are designed to avoid attention. As a result, it can be difficult to distinguish potentially risky activity from routine digital activity. This makes evaluating and protecting digital access security increasingly challenging.

How AI Is Changing Digital Access Security

AI is changing more than the tools available to your organization. It is also changing the tools available to cybercriminals.

In 2025, automated bot attacks increased 59%, while emerging forms of AI-driven and agent-assisted activity continued to reshape the digital landscape. 

As cybercriminals adopt AI and automation, you may encounter:

• Larger volumes of activity
• More automated credential testing
• More realistic digital interactions
• Fewer obvious indicators that an interaction deserves additional scrutiny
• Greater difficulty distinguishing potentially risky activity from legitimate activity

As a result, determining who is behind a digital interaction and whether that activity is what it appears to be can become increasingly difficult. [LexisNexis...026 for AI | PDF]

How Healthcare Identity Verification Supports Secure Digital Access

Understanding cybercriminal behavior can help you better strengthen digital access security. Identity verification provides additional insight into whether the person behind a digital interaction is who they claim to be.

To support that objective, you may consider information such as:

• Identity signals
• Device signals
• Network signals
• Behavioral signals

By evaluating these signals together, you can gain additional perspective into who is behind a digital interaction and whether that activity is what it appears to be.

The goal is not simply to evaluate transactions or interactions. The goal is to better understand who is behind them. Digital identity verification can provide additional context to help you inform digital access and security decisions.

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