The healthcare sector has been under tremendous pressure with the increase in the number of those afflicted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and cybercriminals have left no stone unturned to take advantage of this situation.
- As of August 13, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services‘ HIPAA Breach Reporting Tool has recorded 302 major healthcare breaches impacting nearly 8.7 million individuals.
- Magellan Health, one of the Fortune 500 companies, was struck by a ransomware attack in April 2020. In mid-August, Magellan Health confirmed that about 1.7 million individuals have been affected so far by the April cyberattack.
It is often the case that medical facilities have a weaker implementation of security measures as compared to other industries such as banking and financial networks, IT, and e-commerce.
- So far, in August, many healthcare organizations like Illinois healthcare system FHN, Premier Health Partners, MedEvolve, Ashley County Medical Center, Nova Scotia Health, Aberdeen Hospital, Valley Regional Healthcare, and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have suffered data breaches and unauthorized access incidents.
- A large number of data breach incidents and impacted victims indicate that the healthcare industry should not be lulled into a false sense of security. They still have a great deal of work to do when it comes to securing their infrastructure, such as locking up remote connections, properly disposing documents, and educating users to prevent the frequently observed phishing attacks as well as delays in detection and breach notifications.
A large number of data breach incidents and impacted victims indicate that the healthcare industry should not be lulled into a false sense of security. There’s still a great deal of work to do when it comes to securing infrastructure, such as locking up remote connections, properly disposing documents, and educating users to prevent the frequently observed phishing attacks as well as delays in detection and breach notifications.
0 comments on “THE RISE IN HEALTHCARE CYBERSECURITY INCIDENTS”