Major Health Care Breach Inevitable
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It is only a matter of time until a major security breach of patient health care records takes place. Digital security firms have pointed to a surge in attacks on health care records while highlighting that health care providers are not equipped to respond. In her Information Week Healthcare report, Alison Diana points out that "Unlike finance firms that have secured money since their earliest days, health care organizations are typically new to the world of data protection."
The security rating firm BitSight Technology conducted a study of the finance, utilities, retail, and health care/pharmaceutical industries. Not only did HC/Pharma have the worst overall performance, but they were the slowest to respond to breaches. Antiquated electronic health records can create vulnerabilities by not equipping the most up to date safeguards.
While no major records breaches have been reported, it would not be surprising to hear about one in the near future. This patient data can be worth 20x that of a stolen credit card number on the black market. Health care providers must be nimble to address this looming threat.
