For healthcare organizations that handle a lot of patient data, including very sensitive information, cloud computing is a revolution to data storage. Cloud computing in healthcare lowers data storage costs (compared to the old paper-storage era), enables easy retrieval of patient data and also improves the privacy of patient information. This has inevitably led to a rise in the adoption of cloud computing in healthcare.
As healthcare and life sciences organizations move to digitize their operations and automate their workflows, they are encountering new challenges related to HIPAA regulations, which dictate how patient information should be collected and stored.
The global cases of Novel Coronavirus are continually ticking upward in most parts of the world, and with every new case come further questions about the patients. Hospitals, governments and even general population is interested to know who the affected people are, what their health history is, which locations they visited, and who they interacted with prior to receiving positive test results.
A recent attack on a hospital in Brno, Czech Republic (a COVID-19 testing center)ehowed the extent to which weaknesses in a health center’s cybersecurity system can endanger the lives of patients. During this attack, patients had to be redirected to other hospitals and vital surgeries were postponed - all during a time in which vital testing needed to be carried out and releases needed to be sped up. A study published in the journal Technological Health Care by CS Kruse et al.
The healthcare industry possesses the crown jewels that the bulk of attackers are after: Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Data has become the new currency in the digital underground, consisting primarily of social security numbers, credit card information, health information, and passwords.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, is a compliance standard that was implemented after all health-related information was digitized. The crux of the act is to ensure that all sensitive electronic protected health information (ePHI) has restricted, secure access. Various aspects of your network determine your compliance with HIPAA standards. Let’s discuss some of these important components in detail.
Data is the hottest commodity in town, particularly on the dark web. But there’s one type of file that hackers are most interested in: your medical data. Whereas a credit card number or Social Security number can net a criminal $1-$15 depending on the data type, medical records can sell for the equivalent of $60 each (in Bitcoin). What’s more, the theft of these files isn’t uncommon. Despite U.S.
From maintaining electronic health records and generating medical reports, to carrying out robot-assisted surgeries and setting up online doctor-patient communication portals, the healthcare industry is becoming increasingly reliant on technology to effectively carry out day-to-day operations. While incorporating advanced technology assists healthcare professionals in providing better care for patients, it also increases the attack surface for cybercriminals looking to exploit sensitive data.
