Compared to what hackers can grab off an electronic healthcare record (EHR), someone’s personal bank record is small change. One solitary patient record is a private data jackpot for cybercriminals and pulls down a huge price tag on the dark web.
Along with financial information, healthcare records contain other identifying markers like dates of birth, social security numbers, and email addresses. In other words, a healthcare record is chockfull of information that can be used to gain illicit profits in a variety of ways or for outright malicious purposes.
Apart from account numbers and financial data, protected health information is also highly personal. Some stranger peeking in on an individual’s lab results, prescription medications, procedures, and diagnosis is an extreme violation of privacy.
Unlike a debit card, a healthcare record cannot be simply turned off says Todd Williams, Sr. Manager of Information Security at MEDHOST. In this episode of Tales of the Encrypted he explains why healthcare is such a lucrative target for online criminals and what providers can do to protect their systems and patients in the event of an attack.
Find out the full story on protecting the world’s most personal data, plus tips and failsafe measures to help ensure your data remains encrypted.