Healthcare has always been a hot topic. Whether it’s technological revolutions or discussing the threats to healthcare data security.
Healthcare data security is one of the prime concerns all over the world. Every year, more than 800000+ patient data were hacked and around 2200+ Cyber attacks, breaches, and information leaks take place.
Patient data are very confidential, one can find out information regarding an individual patient and can harm them.
Even though healthcare organization data such as intellectual property are the top threats to healthcare data security.
Hackers are always looking for a potential gap where they can enter and steal data from healthcare systems.
So, being aware of security threats is necessary. The hacker does not let go of the opportunity. You have to be prepared for what’s coming.
Let’s understand some of the prime threats and issues faced by healthcare firms.
Issues faced in healthcare security: Top 5 threats to healthcare data security
There can be other threats too for healthcare data security depending on the system they are using. However, these are the most common threats among them.
That is to be underlined and necessary steps should be taken to counter those threats.
#1 Ransomware:
Ransomware is one of the data threats which keeps an eye on millions of healthcare data security. It blocks access to the devices or computers until the ransom is paid.
In recent years. thousands of healthcare firms have become victims of it. In addition, “the average healthcare breach cost was $9 million.”
However, ransomware can not be solved easily, it’s a matter of cyber security. With the help of IT experts, the data can be protected from ransomware.
#2 Patients privacy protection
Nowadays, all healthcare patient records are stored in the EHR(electronic health records). Details such as credit cards, medical records, and so on.
It becomes easy for hackers to steal all the data from one platform by sitting anywhere around the world.
They can use such information to sell it in the black market or use credit card details to carry out fraudulent activity.
However, transferring access to unknown users is also one of the prime causes of security breaches. In that particular case, patients’ data are at threat.
In addition, patients also have to be alert and secure their access information. Because if they hand over it to unknown users then other healthcare data are also at risk.
#3 Medical devices are an easy entry for attackers
There are other exceptional threats apart from electronic data. Hackers always find an easy target and for them medical devices such as x-rays, insulin pumps are easy to attack.
And these devices play an essential role in care delivery. As it is made for the purpose to monitor the patient’s live metrics like heart rate and pulse rate.
But, security is not the prime concern of these devices as they may not include the patient’s data but hackers can enter into the server which holds a piece of valuable information.
So, it’s important to focus on the security of these critical devices that are a gateway for hackers to enter into the system.
#4 Lack of education
Sometimes, the medical staff does operate multiple tasks in the organization apart from clinical work and it also includes administrative work and maintaining data of patients.
Well, in that case, having an education regarding cyber security is important for medical staff because normal software is not capable of handling large breach attacks on the system.
And due to a lack of education and not having a dedicated data protection team of experts healthcare firms do fail to ensure data security.
So, it is necessary to hire experts for data security who are only focused on cyber security.
And if the organization is not willing to hire the experts then do train or provide education to their medical staff regarding data breaches.
#5 Using outdated technology
Many healthcare organizations still rely on normal anti-virus software which is not capable of tackling high data breaches.
Software such as Mac free, Norton antivirus, comodo antivirus, and vice versa. These are the common anti-virus software used to detect viruses and remove them from computers and laptops.
This software is quite helpful for small organizations holding small patient data. But, for large operating healthcare firms having a dedicated expert team is necessary.
They just can’t depend on this software to protect their data from hackers. These are quite easy to crack for them.
However, healthcare organizations hold a huge database of patients, and major cyber attacks are carried out on big firms.
Why do healthcare apps fail to protect patient’s data?
Health tech has always been challenging in terms of data security. Especially, protecting healthcare data.
Most of the common reasons for being a victim of cyber attacks is not utilizing HIPPA complaint task management.
HiPPA is an act that provides rules for the privacy and security of protected healthcare information. Various information including patient data, payment data, and so on that is directly linked to an individual.
It also collects information on various entities like doctors’ offices, hospitals, healthcare providers, insurance providers, and vice versa.
However, every health-tech service provider is not able to fulfill the act requirements which means the data are not in a secure position.
Final words
Although, healthcare data security will always be a prime concern for healthcare firms as well as for patients.
And, taking the necessary steps to upgrade your protection model can keep you away from hackers and the chance of data breaches can be reduced.
