Hospitals and other provider institutions are in an intensified battle of wits with cybercriminals looking to milk the COVID crisis for all it’s worth.
One point of easier-than-normal entry is nonclinical employees working from home. Another is providers’ weakened state. Many are strapped for cash and, as a result, stretching resources.
Against this background it’s not surprising security incidents have leaped 75% in North America and 125% in Europe and the Middle East, according to a commercial security expert interviewed by USA Today.
Among the organizations the newspaper looks at in a 1,500-word report is Seattle Children’s Hospital. There hacking attempts have mostly come in the form of phishing expeditions. If anyone receiving email via the hospital’s server clicks on a loaded link or attachment, the bad actors may gain access to the EHR.
And babies’ health records are especially prized because they can supply stolen identities with a distant “sell-by” date.
“You have a free run for 18 years to utilize these personas,” Gary Gooden, Seattle Children’s chief of information security tells USA Today reporter Karen Weintraub.
Nor are large multihospital systems with sophisticated security operations free of concern. That’s because many are networked with smaller practices, clinics and other entities.
“Your security is only as good as your collective security,” informaticist Titus Schleyer of Indiana University says. “If you have a weak partner, all your security doesn’t help you.”
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.