Cybersecurity experts express concern about the healthcare industry
A recent report shed light on the state of cybersecurity in the healthcare industry. Not only is the industry heavily targeted by cyber criminals, but it may be ill-equipped to fend off attacks, as well.
SecurityScorecard’s [link url=”http://info.securityscorecard.com/2016-healthcare-cybersecurity-report” title=”2016 Healthcare Industry Cybersecurity Research Report”] uncovered multiple problem points in healthcare cybersecurity. The problem is wide-reaching, as an estimated 85 percent of large health organizations experienced a data breach in 2014 alone.
Hackers frequently target the healthcare industry to gain access to PHI (protected health information). PHI can be a gold mine for cyber criminals, as it often contains things like names, accounts, birth dates, medical records, social security numbers, etc. This PII (personally identifiable information) can then, in turn, be [link url=”https://amuedge.com/medical-data-sold-black-market/” title=”sold on the black market”].
All healthcare organizations impacted
The research report took an in-depth look at a range of healthcare organizations. The list included health treatment centers, insurance providers, manufacturing organizations, and hospitals.
The study revealed that the industry as a whole is below average in six of ten security categories. For example, 63 percent the largest 27 hospitals in the U.S. struggled with unpatched vulnerabilities that may be leaving the organization open to attack.
The healthcare industry falls below the industry average in 6 out of 10 security categories! Download for more! https://t.co/Zte6PXwywn pic.twitter.com/M50m0XmkJn
— SecurityScorecard (@security_score) November 1, 2016
Awareness is a major issue
According to SecurityScorecard, research suggested that a security awareness is a problem in the industry. Awareness issues trickle down deep into personnel and staff.
That is, while IT departments of healthcare organizations may be up-to-date on the latest security practices, the same cannot always be said for other departments. Medical personnel, administrative professionals, and other employees may not prioritize information security as much as needed.
[relink url=”https://amuedge.com/medical-data-sold-black-market/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/report-highlights-cybercrime-issues-healthcare/”]
Comments are closed.