In addition to bank account and credit card numbers these records may also include proprietary health information social security numbers and other personally identifiable information as well as medical research and other intellectual property. Additionally the average cost of a data breach in healthcare is by far the highest of any industry. In 2021 these costs increased by 2 million 22 to 9.23 million per incident compared to an average of 4.24 million for all industries - again an all-time high.
This poses some special challenges for those responsible for data security in the industry. For example if a bank account or credit card number is stolen the account can be blocked or closed and a new Whatsapp Mobile Number List one opened. Not so with medical records. Once lab test results or a diagnosis become known they are no longer private. The information is undeniable. Some cases of data corruption can be life threatening. Tampering with electronic medical records EMR or connected medical devices such as insulin pumps can compromise patient care and result in injury or death.
In addition HIPAA GDPR and other data protection regulations must be observed. CISOs and other healthcare security professionals must balance protecting patient data maintaining their privacy and sharing that data to ensure the best possible patient care. These often conflicting goals can create security gaps and vulnerabilities that cyber thieves can quickly exploit. Lag behind the threat Given this situation one might think that healthcare organizations are best protected in the area of ​​cybersecurity. Unfortunately the old adage that doctors make the worst patients seems to apply here too.