CyberSecurity

Top 10 Cybersecurity Breaches In Healthtech

The Healthcare industry handles the sensitive data of the patients. Most of the records consist of the Patient’s medical history, diagnosis, treatments, social security numbers, names, and addresses. In addition, the information about the insurance agreement and billing is also included in it.

The Healthcare industry is one of the easiest targets of hackers. They are more vulnerable to cyberattacks in many ways. In the last few years, it has been seen that healthcare security breaches have grown significantly.

The motive for hackers to steal the data from the health care sector is very simple as the health care providers possess very sensitive data and this data can be used for identity theft. In some cases, it is used to blackmail the patient or to get illegal drug prescriptions.

The health care data is also sold on different platforms by hackers as it is considered a valuable commodity.

In this article, we are going to highlight the top 10 cybersecurity breaches in Healthtech.

CyberSecurity Breach on Telehealth App

Babylon started the initiative which allowed patients and doctors to make an online interaction. It has more than 2.3 million active users in the UK. This interaction is assisted by the audio and video calls, in which medical records can be shared, symptoms can be analyzed and patients can get a prescription and can easily book an appointment.

In 2020 Babylon reported some kind of vulnerability that makes the confidential video conferences of patients with the physicians open to everyone. This incident occurs due to the addition of a new feature that allows switching the audio interaction in video.

The company immediately reacted to the vulnerability and fix the issue and notified the regulators.

Advocate Health care

Advocate health care revealed data breaches in 2013. It includes 4.03 million patients’ unencrypted medical records which have been stolen. The news about this massive security breach came out after four years.

They also stated that took some measures to protect the encrypted data, the system was ready to use but it was not deployed to the sector where this breach occurred.

Banner Health

Banner Health has also faced a cyber attack back in 2016. It started when the hackers used malware to breach the payment processing system of Banner foods and beverages outlets which eventually gave them access to the servers that hold the sensitive data of the patients.

The sensitive data includes; Patients’ social security numbers, information related to the insurance agreements, Services and treatment information, and many more.

Following this cyber attack, Banner Health made amendments to their system, implementing a firm security system. With the inclusion of Payment card industry data security standards.

They also improved access management systems and network security.

University of California Los Angeles Health

In 2015, the University of California Los Angeles health reported a security breach, In which hackers accessed the record of patients. They admitted that the reason behind this security breach is that they had not encrypted the data. Which eventually allowed the hackers to steal the sensitive information.

Vulnerability In Prescription Management Software

Walgreens found this vulnerability in their system, The system of Walgreens is integrated with various pharmacies in the U.S. Which helps the patients to find nearby pharmacies, Online options to purchase medicines, and manage the prescription.

In 2020 they found a security breach in which the patient’s sensitive information like his name, address, and prescription got leaked. Walgreens was quick to fix the vulnerability.

Community Health systems

Community Health Systems reported a network security breach that exposed the information of their patients. The organization said that a group of hackers based in China used advanced malware to attack their systems.

Data includes social security numbers, Names, Birthplace, addresses, and Telephone numbers.

The Community Health System got the assistance of a team of security experts to investigate this cyber attack. Since then the company makes various changes in its system like the inclusion of surveillance technology to detect any outside access and using advanced encryption technology to further protect their system.

Security Breaches In Health Insurance Service Providers Software

This security breach affected Newkirk which is a company that covers a huge network of health insurance companies in the U.S. They provide health care ID cards for various insurance companies.

Hackers got access to the system due to the vulnerability. The vulnerability is found in the system of a third-party software system that is based on a single server.

Due to this security breach, the user’s personal data like names, health care service provider information got leaked. After that Newkirk took some necessary steps to make their system secure and less vulnerable to any other cyber attack in the future.

Medical Informatics Engineering

Medical informatics Engineering is a company that assists in Electronic Health Records & Electronic Medical Records services in the U.S. They reported a security breach in 2015 when the hackers obtained confidential information to get access to their database.

This results in the loss of sensitive records of the patients like their names, addresses, social security numbers, and insurance agreements. It is also revealed later that the company breached HIPAA guidelines.

eResearch Technology

eResearch provides services of the software that reduce the risk in clinical trials. They reported a ransomware attack in 2020 which affected many clinical trials. After that attack, the software system was shut down for investigation for nearly two weeks.

Libre Health

Libre Health is a company that is giving the services of EHR/EMR through a mobile app system. In 2020 they reported a cyber attack on their system. Which breaches local file inclusion, CSRF, SQL injection, and various other systems.

So far the company claimed that no user data was misused in this cyber attack.

These top 10 Cybersecurity breaches in health tech are a reminder for health care industry experts to come forward and take necessary steps to improve the security system. As the breaches are pretty much expensive. Many Health Tech service providers ignore the importance of cyber security. Which makes them pay millions of dollars to cover the breaches.

Service providers should strictly follow the criteria of HIPPA and invest in improving the security of their systems.

Top 4 Cyber Security Best Practices To Prevent Cyber Attacks In Healthcare

Due to the current pandemic, healthcare providers are moving towards offering their services virtually. This shift towards technology is creating big opportunities for cyber attackers to breach the systems of healthcare facilities to steal the sensitive data of the patients.

Cybercrimes have been around for a long time but the risk of getting ambushed by hackers has grown tremendously. They steal the patients’ data to either sell it, destroy it or use it for other wicked reasons.

In the healthcare industry, healthcare providers are allowed to access the sensitive data of their patients so that they may perform their treatment in the best way possible. Therefore, for patient trust, you need to protect your data.

Want to save your patient’s data?

Then you should adopt new technologies to better enhance your patient experience. Besides all the latest technologies you must also be aware of common cyber-attacks and the best practices to prevent cyber attacks. Let’s dive deep into this article.

Most Common Cyber Attacks in Healthcare in 2021

There are many types of cyber attacks that can cause a huge loss to any healthcare facility. But ransomware, phishing emails, and identity theft are the most common cyber attacks in the healthcare industry currently.

Ransomware

Ransomware is malware that denies access to a system. Cyber attackers take control of the system and render the files within a system unusable for the victim.

It is called Ransomware because attackers demand a ransom from the victim. And, it is becoming one of the main cyber attacks in the healthcare industry.

Phishing

Phishing emails have been the most common cyber attack for more than a decade. Cyber attackers trick the healthcare workers by sending them emails involving information regarding different medical information and medical equipment. In the current pandemic, many healthcare providers have reported getting emails related to COVID-19 information and equipment like ventilators, and then they ask for an action through which they receive sensitive information from the victim like credit card numbers and passwords.

IdentityTheft

Telehealth services are increasing in the current pandemic; patients are contacting their doctors online. Much patient data is getting shared on the internet, and the current security on the healthcare provider’s part is not strong enough.

It is making the job of cyber criminals a lot easier, and they can trick a healthcare worker or employee into getting the information of patients for their dark motives.

Healthcare providers should be aware of the following cybersecurity best practices:

Cyber Security Best Practices in 2021

Training the Employees for Security

Your security system is as strong as its weakest link. It means even if you have the

best security software, you can still become a victim to a cyber attack due to human error. Many cyberattacks are caused by phishing. The employees will get

an email or link which will allow a cyber attacker to bypass the security.

That’s why it is crucial to train your medical staff about the security of data. They should know about the cyber attacks so they would not hand over the valuable information of the patients to the attackers.

You should provide regular security training to the employees which can be monthly,

quarterly or every six months.

Creating a Backup for the Data

One of the best cybersecurity best practices is to create a backup of your data. Healthcare provider should back up their data so they could retrieve it if it is gone. Sometimes, when a cyber-attack is avoided, the system is switched back to a previous state, leading to a loss of important data. It is necessary to save data in more than one place.

It is recommended to store data on a cloud server because they are extremely secure, and they allow the restoration of the information at any time. Otherwise, you are at risk of getting affected by a cyberattack and losing essential data about your patients.

Keeping Your Security up-to-Date

Cybercriminals are always looking for vulnerabilities in the security systems of healthcare facilities. And, that’s the reason security software developers are always coming up with software updates to patch the vulnerabilities and improve the overall security system.

It is best to update your security software regularly. It is even better if you can check the auto-updates option. But if you want to do it manually, you should make sure you update your security as soon as possible. Even a little bit of negligence can cause a massive loss.

It is also best to have multiple layers of security. Like there can be two-factor security or end-to-end protection.

The employees should be given limited access; this means they should be given authorization to the information related to their work or department. Doing this will decrease the risk of losing a huge amount of data.

Create a Cyber Attack Policy

Healthcare providers should develop plans with healthcare IT experts to prevent cyber attacks. They should connect the IT specialists with their employees, so if a cyber attack occurs, their employees can contact the IT team to get help. It is best to create plans for preventing cyber attacks as well. You know it better than anyone that prevention is better than cure.

Having a cyber attack policy will make things easier. You will be ready to face the unexpected, and handling the situation will be easier. It has been known that the same attackers try to deceive one healthcare facility multiple times. So, it is best to come up with a plan to avoid the same mistakes.

It is best to assess your current security system for vulnerabilities. IT specialists or even some software can help you to find that out.

Need Help With More Security?

The healthcare industry is at risk of cyber attacks due to the increased use of technology during this pandemic. Even though we have discussed the top cybersecurity best practices, there can still be many more issues that might put your patients’ data in danger. If you feel your safety is not updated with current trends, it is best to seek help from experts.

MED-Miles has some of the best cybersecurity experts in the country. They can help you get the best security software solutions and guide you through implementing the cybersecurity best practices within your security system. You can email us at info@med-miles.com or call us at 888 598 9181 right now to get the best cybersecurity consultation from our experts.