Data breaches in the healthcare industry have been accelerating during this pandemic with the latest total equaling 105 breaches affecting more than 2.5 million thus far in 2020 according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Data breaches in the healthcare industry have been accelerating during this pandemic with the latest total equaling 105 breaches affecting more than 2.5 million thus far in 2020 according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
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News that health data breaches have more than doubled in recent weeks just goes to show you that sadly, cybercriminals will exploit whatever vulnerability is available to steal from unwitting victims. In this case, hackers are taking advantage of a combination of people’s fear of COVID-19 along with the vast numbers of people who are now working from home. For example, because of concerns about coronavirus, people are more willing to open phishing emails that claim to offer guidance about how to prevent COVID-19. Moreover, because people are no longer present at their more secure workplaces, less of these phishing attempts are blocked. Phishing is just one cyber threat that companies face. Other challenges that arise from working from home include a lack of strategic support and new technology risks, such as unmanaged devices, shadow IT and insecure access, which must all be addressed. Clearly, organizations must put processes in place to make sure that their employees, as well as their supply chain partners, can securely work from home. These steps can include developing verification procedures, contracting with an MSSP to review alerts and security logs, communicating increased fraud risk to employees, increasing system monitoring and introducing additional access controls.