The digital practice—the electronic storage, access, sharing, and monitoring of health information—promises increased convenience, improved patient care, and lower costs.1 But this electronic access to medical records also brings with it a potentially costly risk to medical practices.
The high value of medical records on the dark web make digital healthcare data a target of cyberattacks. The added requirement of securing digital systems while maintaining their high availability and broad access add to the already unique complexities of a healthcare practice environment to make healthcare the only industry where the majority of breaches are associated with internal actors.2
References
1. “What Are the Advantages of Electronic Health Records?” HealthIT.gov.
2. Verizon. Data Breach Investigations Report. 2019.
3. Brian Stack. "Here’s How Much Your Personal Information Is Selling for on the Dark Web." Verizon Cybersecurity Blog. 12/6/2017.
4. IBM Security. Cost of a Data Breach Report. 2019.
5. Verizon. Protected Health Information Data Breach Report. 2018.
6. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Office for Civil Rights. “Guidance on Risk Analysis.”