Awareness of health risks linked to the value of personal data as malicious actors become rampant in attacks on health care delivery organizations (HDOs)
Samuel Hill, Director of Product Marketing, Medigate
The conversation about data privacy is reaching a new level for good reason.
In 2021, medical data breaches hit an all-time high. 45 million individuals. As digital interactions increase, we leave an exhaustive digital footprint that reveals who we are, our habits, and our personal information. Finding personal information and personal information about someone based on digital habits and interactions has never been easier. And personal data, made up of sensitive and valuable information, is more in demand than ever on the Dark Web.
Stolen data is sensitive and can be used to target phishing attacks. health care alone 80% The percentage of IT professionals surveyed agree that cyber risk has continued to increase over the past year.
Understanding the value of data privacy in 2022 is critical and will remain a priority as it becomes an increasingly area of concern. At the same time, health care delivery organizations (HDOs) are already facing a significant headcount. lack, It hampers your ability to deal with cyberthreats.
To properly understand how to protect your personal data, you must first understand the devices that store your personal data and the value those devices have to cybercriminals.
Medical Device Security to Protect Patient Data
The first step in ensuring data protection and privacy is protecting medical devices and the patient data they store and transmit. About 80% of medical device types transmit or store personally identifiable information (PII)* study, found that 53% of Internet-connected medical devices have known vulnerabilities. As data breaches become a major way for malicious actors to negatively impact hospital operations, the need for data security within medical devices has increased. Patient data stored or transmitted on medical devices is a treasure trove of people who choose to exploit it, and if devices are not properly protected, this data will be compromised by malicious actors.
HDO provides an environment of connected devices that repeatedly store and transmit information in the course of delivering the care they need. However, personally identifiable information is only personal information to the last. Patients should have a vested interest in how their data is collected, protected and stored so that they can ask their health care providers the necessary questions. Patients may not always know when and how their data will be used. However, it is reasonable to expect that the device on which you are being treated will not actively allow the leak of your data.
Prepare for the unknown due to the increase in cyber risk
Facing cyberattacks can be unavoidable, and the need for strong device security is well known. Armed with knowledge of the number of devices that store and transmit PII, security operators can scale their projects up to raise funds and patients can keep in mind that their privacy may be at risk while receiving medical care. This awareness is essential to any work towards a ‘zero trust’ environment.
Securing PII on medical devices requires accurate device profiles, so your security team knows which devices are actually storing and transmitting this data. This foundation allows you to focus on vulnerability management, clinically aware network segmentation, anomalous behavior tracking, and meaningful integration with the entire ecosystem of security tools. This holistic approach to medical device security takes the necessary steps to protect patient data and helps HDOs mitigate and combat abusive cyberthreats.
The data collected by HDO is personal and valuable. As the connected state continues to grow, this data must remain secure and it is more important than ever when data privacy must be a priority for all industries. We cannot allow medical devices to store and transmit this valuable commodity without proper compensatory controls.
About the author
Samuel is Claroty’s Medigate Product Marketing Director. Prior to working in the tech field, he spent 7 years as an emergency room technician in two different healthcare systems and underwent EHR transitions twice! He is a husband of one child and a father of four. When not camping, he lives on a rural island near Seattle, Washington. He holds a BA from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Strategic Leadership from Life Pacific University.
Samuel Hill can be contacted online at samuel@medigate.io or @samueljhill and on our website. http://www.medigate.io
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