Privacy breaches are happening more and more. AJ Dellinger from Engadget says small businesses are often hit the hardest and the least prepared for these kinds of attacks. Your clinic needs to be aware of how breaches are happening so that you can stay compliant and keep your information safe.
Recent privacy breaches in healthcare:
In Alberta, an investigation was launched when a physician’s Gmail account that was being used to communicate with patients was hacked and 7,000 patient medical records were put at risk. The physician failed to follow compliant policy which stated that both physician and patient must use a secure email service when sending out health-related information electronically.
Hundreds of dental clinics based in the US were hit with a ransomware attack that forced some to go back to their pen and paper ways. The hackers targeted clinics that use specific software because they had identified a vulnerability.
A gender identity clinic based in London, England suffered a privacy breach when they mistakenly CC-ed almost 2,000 individuals on two email messages that identified them as patients.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, a researcher intercepted private medical information that was transmitted insecurity over radio frequencies by a hospital. Patient names, age, gender, and room number were all included.
In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, a medical professional’s laptop containing over 80% of the territories residents health information was stolen. This breach is now part of a lawsuit against the government.
Many of these breaches could have been avoided if compliant rules and regulations had been followed and proper tools head been used to keep the patient health data secure.
Brightsquid Secure-Mail is a privacy-compliant replacement for email. It cannot be hacked by cybercriminals or used to spread spam and ransomware. Brightsquid privacy support services help clinics, facilities, and vendors understand their responsibilities in relation to keeping patient data safe.