HackproofHacks
Healthcare technology security

Penetration Testing for Healthtech

Healthtech products carry an unusual combination of pressures: highly sensitive patient data, strict regulation, and a sprawl of integrations with providers, labs, and insurers. Any one of those integrations can leak protected health information if access control fails, and the consequences are measured in both regulatory penalties and human harm.

This engagement tests the systems that hold and move patient data the way an attacker would, and delivers a report that speaks to your HIPAA obligations and the security reviews your healthcare customers will run before they trust you.

Why healthtech is a high-value target

Health records sell for more than credit cards on criminal markets because they contain everything needed for long-term fraud and cannot simply be reissued. That makes healthtech a deliberate target, not a bystander, and the attack surface is wide: a patient portal, a clinician dashboard, a mobile app, and a mesh of data-exchange APIs.

The dominant risk is broken access control over patient data. When one patient can view another's records by changing an identifier, or a lower-privileged user reaches clinical functions, that is both a severe security failure and a reportable breach. These flaws are invisible to scanners and require a human testing with multiple accounts.

Your customers, whether hospitals, clinics, or larger platforms, will not integrate with you until you can show independent security testing. A clear, HIPAA-aware penetration test report is often the deciding evidence in a healthcare procurement or partnership review.

What we test

Access control over patient data

Systematic testing of whether any user can reach records belonging to other patients or providers by manipulating identifiers, across every record and document type.

Role separation

The boundaries between patient, clinician, and admin roles, ensuring no role can perform actions or read data outside its remit.

Integration and data-exchange APIs

The interfaces that share PHI with external systems, checked for authorization enforcement and over-exposure of data.

Mobile and data storage

PHI cached or stored insecurely on devices, transmitted without encryption, or leaked through logs and error messages.

The report you receive

The report supports your compliance posture and guides your team. It contains:

  • An executive summary framed around patient-data risk.
  • A methodology statement referencing OWASP web and API testing standards.
  • Findings rated by severity with reproduction steps, PHI-exposure impact, and remediation.
  • Notes relating findings to HIPAA technical safeguards where relevant.
  • A retest and updated report evidencing remediation for your customers and auditors.

Findings we commonly report in this category

Cross-patient record access

An endpoint returning a record by id without confirming the requester is authorized for that patient, exposing PHI to any logged-in user.

Over-exposed integration endpoints

Data-exchange APIs returning more patient data than the consuming system requires, magnifying the impact of any compromise.

Insecure mobile storage of PHI

Clinical or patient data cached unencrypted on a device, recoverable if the device is lost or compromised.

PHI leakage in logs and URLs

Patient identifiers or data appearing where they can be cached, logged, or shown to the wrong party.

Frequently asked questions

How is a healthtech test different from a generic web test?

The focus shifts to patient-data access control and the integrations that move PHI, tested with multiple accounts to prove that no user can reach another patient's data. Generic scans and even generic manual tests often miss these context-specific authorization flaws.

Do you test against real patient data?

No. We use a staging environment or synthetic test data and agree strict rules of engagement, so no real PHI is exposed during the assessment.

Will this help us sell to hospitals and larger platforms?

Yes. Healthcare buyers routinely require evidence of independent security testing, and a clear HIPAA-aware report is frequently the item that unblocks the procurement or partnership.

Do we need this if we are not a covered entity?

If you handle PHI as a business associate, you are directly liable under HIPAA, and your covered-entity partners will require testing regardless of your label.

Related services

Ready to scope your penetration testing for healthtech?

Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We agree the scope, timeline, and a fixed price up front — no obligation, and no surprises for your deadline.