Healthcare data has never been more vulnerable. Last month, 42separate hacking incidents led to the exposure of 22 millionpeople’s healthcare data, according to the Department of Health andHuman Services’ (HSS’s) Office of Civil Rights. That’s thesecond-highest number in a month since the department begantracking breaches in 2010. The only worse month was February 2015,when Anthem suffered a massive breach that exposed the data of itsnearly 80 million members.

There are very few, if any, healthcare organizations that canclaim to have been unaffected by cyberattacks. In remarks to theSenate Cybersecurity Caucus reported by Health IT Security, RobertLord, founder of Protenus Data Security Firm, referenced a recentreport that showed 70 percent of healthcare systems had documenteda major breach.

Jennifer Covich Bordenick, eHealth Initiative CEO, similarlyargued that many operate under the false impression that stringentdata regulations in healthcare make the information difficult toaccess.

For starters, she pointed out, regulators are not checking tomake sure that healthcare organizations which are required to abideby the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)are in compliance: “There is no such thing as a HIPAA-certifiedorganization. HHS does not go and certify organizations and say,‘You are completely in compliance.’”

In recent years, however, patients have begun sharing healthcareinformation with a variety of third-party apps that aren’t subjectto any data regulations. Bordenick described the hunt for data asthe new “space race.”

“Whoever has the most data wins. Think about it: Think about thepotential of bioterrorism that would take place if you discovered acertain population was susceptible to a certain German drug,” shesaid.

The average hacker, of course, is simply seeking a quick profit.And there’s no information more profitable than healthcare data.Experian, the credit report agency, told CBS earlier this year thatpatient records could sell for $1,000 online, compared with about$1 for Social Security numbers.

From: BenefitsPro