Category: Alerts
Healthcare remains one of the most breached sectors, with hacker attacks hitting clinics and hospitals and making news headlines almost every day. According to a recent article in Medical Economics, it is estimated that, in 2020, ransomware attacks alone affected over 600 separate healthcare institutions and more than 18 million individual patient records (a staggering 470% increase from 2019).
What are the most common mistakes at doctors' offices?
- Weak password management. One of the duties of healthcare providers is to protect their patients’ medical records and personal information, which is very sensitive. You can always change your leaked passwords or get a new credit card, but your DNA is for life. Unfortunately, doctors use shockingly weak passwords, and those are one of the top causes of data breaches.
- Unsecure data storing and sharing. In most cases, doctors store their patients’ records unencrypted on their computers. This is a major risk when ransomware hits, as hackers gain access to files and may threaten to leak or destroy them unless a ransom is paid. Additionally, many clinics share their patients’ information among themselves or with third-party providers via email. However, email is one of the least safe methods to exchange information.
- Using out-of-date software. With patient care being a priority at the doctor’s office and everything else secondary, computer security usually gets overlooked. One of the major mistakes is missing software updates. Updates are very important as they include important fixes and patches that prevent hackers from exploiting known security vulnerabilities.
To read the full article, click here: https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/the-most-common-cybersecurity-mistakes-doctors-make
