The healthcare industry is one of the most targeted sectors for data breaches. A GlobalData report suggests that almost 22 million healthcare records have been affected already in 2022.
According to the report, it’s also likely that cybersecurity spending for healthcare worldwide will increase in the next 3 years by nearly $400 million. Health companies are a target for cyber-criminals due to their large amount of confidential and sensitive information, as well as the fact that the industry tends to have older technology that’s not as well protected.
Compromised information from these types of breaches can include full names, birth dates, private health information (PHI) including social security numbers, address, etc. It’s easier for a hacker or bad actor to target an individual when they have more information about them.
Currently, the largest data breach this year occurred at Shields Health Care Group, where almost 2 million people were affected.
There are multiple ways that a threat actor can facilitate a data breach. Oftentimes human error is the cause, due to a lack of knowledge and training on cybersecurity. An employee may respond to an email, unaware the sender is posing as someone else, and give out important information. Someone may also let a criminal into a physical work building without proper security protocol, such as a criminal posing as a contractor or visitor.
Obviously cyber-criminals and hackers can brute force their way into an older or less secure network, which makes it even more vital that your organization’s IT infrastructure remains strong and up to date.
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