Keeping Hospital AV Systems Secure

When Sound and Vision Go Silent

Picture this: a hospital’s surgical team is mid-operation when patient monitoring dashboards suddenly freeze. Telehealth sessions drop mid-call. Digital signage stops updating, and internal video networks go dark.

It sounds like a technical glitch, but it’s not. It’s a ransomware attack.

These incidents are becoming alarmingly common across the healthcare landscape. Ransomware doesn’t just lock files; it can cripple communication systems, including the Audio Visual (AV) technologies that have become essential to modern patient care.

In today’s connected hospitals, AV systems power telemedicine, diagnostics, conferencing, and digital communication. When those systems fail, the silence can be dangerous. Safeguarding hospital AV infrastructure is no longer optional, it’s a vital part of protecting patients, data, and trust.

The Rising Threat: Why Healthcare Is Under Siege

Healthcare is now one of ransomware’s top targets, and the numbers prove it.

According to Sophos’ State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2024 report, 67% of healthcare organizations were hit by ransomware last year, up from 60% in 2023. The average recovery cost reached $2.57 million, and 37% of affected hospitals took over a month to return to normal operations.

Why such a high hit rate? Because healthcare data is incredibly valuable, and healthcare networks are increasingly connected. From telemedicine platforms and nurse-call systems to digital signage and AV-over-IP solutions, every device added to a hospital network expands the attack surface.

In June 2024, for instance, a ransomware attack on Synnovis, a pathology service provider for multiple London hospital trusts, forced the cancellation of surgeries and delayed blood transfusions. That same year, the Change Healthcare attack in the U.S. disrupted billing and care systems nationwide, affecting nearly 100 million individuals and costing parent company UnitedHealth over $2.9 billion in recovery and operational losses.

While AV systems weren’t the direct targets in these cases, they were collateral damage. When networks go dark, so do displays, conferencing systems, and telehealth tools, the very systems that keep modern care connected.

AV Systems: The Hidden Weak Link in Hospital Cybersecurity

In many hospitals, AV systems have evolved faster than the security policies that govern them. Historically managed separately from IT, AV environments often prioritize uptime and usability, not defense.

But as these systems migrate to AV-over-IP and cloud platforms, they now share the same networks as electronic health records and diagnostic tools. That means a single unsecured AV endpoint, a codec, control processor, or conferencing bridge, could become a backdoor for attackers.

Ransomware groups like LockBit, ALPHV/BlackCat, and Medusa increasingly exploit unpatched devices or weak credentials, both common pain points in unmanaged AV environments. In a recent analysis, CompuResearch noted that many AV devices still ship with default passwords, making them easy targets for automated scanning tools used by attackers.

The takeaway? AV and IT can no longer operate in silos. The convergence of these systems demands unified security standards, continuous monitoring, and shared accountability.

When Cyber Threats Disrupt Patient Care

Ransomware’s impact goes far beyond servers and databases, it directly affects patient outcomes.

When the DaVita dialysis network was attacked in 2025, it disrupted care for 2.7 million patients across the U.S. While clinical teams could continue core treatments, communication systems suffered, forcing staff into manual workarounds.

In other cases, hospitals have reported losing access to telehealth feeds, real-time diagnostic visuals, and video conferencing platforms during ransomware incidents. Each communication breakdown slows diagnosis, delays treatment, and jeopardizes lives.

For hospital leaders, this changes the security equation. Protecting AV systems is not just an IT requirement, it’s part of a hospital’s duty of care.

Building a Cyber-Resilient AV Infrastructure

Resilience starts at the design level. Hospitals must build AV systems with cybersecurity woven into every connection and configuration.

That means regular firmware updates, encrypted AV signal paths, secure user authentication, and strict access control. It means enforcing network segmentation, so AV traffic doesn’t overlap with medical data or administrative systems.

Equally important is choosing AV vendors and integrators who understand HIPAA compliance and network security. Secure-by-design solutions, with encrypted control protocols, detailed audit logs, and vulnerability management, should be the industry baseline.

The Comparitech Healthcare Ransomware Report found that 293 ransomware attacks hit U.S. healthcare providers between January and September 2025, exposing over 7.4 million patient records. Most attacks exploited third-party service providers or unpatched networked devices. AV professionals, who integrate hardware and software from multiple vendors, must recognize that supply-chain vulnerabilities are their problem too.

A cyber-resilient AV system isn’t built once; it’s maintained continuously.

Collaborative Defense: IT and AV Must Work Together

Hospital cybersecurity is strongest when IT and AV teams collaborate. Too often, each department maintains its own systems and standards, creating blind spots.

The solution is shared governance. Joint monitoring tools, unified update schedules, and coordinated incident response plans ensure that a threat detected in one domain doesn’t spread to another.

Both teams must adopt a zero-trust mindset: every device, user, and connection must be verified and monitored. The best AV systems are not only interoperable, they’re securely integrated.

In this environment, collaboration is the new cybersecurity protocol.

The Bigger Picture: Security Is the New Standard of Care

Healthcare’s digital transformation depends on connected systems that enhance communication, efficiency, and patient experience. But every new connection adds exposure.

Protecting AV systems isn’t about avoiding ransomware headlines, it’s about ensuring hospitals can communicate when it matters most. When displays go dark or telemedicine links fail, patient safety is at stake.

In the age of ransomware, security is no longer a technical feature, it’s a clinical necessity.

For AV and IT professionals shaping the future of healthcare, the mission is clear: build networks that are as safe as they are smart. Because when you protect the system, you protect the patient.