Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
    data driven insights
    How Data-Driven Insights Are Addressing Gaps in Patient Communication and Equity
    8 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Hospital Security Breaches Devastate Local Communities
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Data Management > Policy and Governance > How Hospital Security Breaches Devastate Local Communities
Data ManagementExclusiveITPrivacySecurity

How Hospital Security Breaches Devastate Local Communities

Discover how hospital security breeches can have devastating impacts on local communities and the importance of preventative measures.

Ryan Ayers
Ryan Ayers
7 Min Read
data breaches
Shutterstock Licensed Photo - 403214356 | By Rawpixel.com
SHARE

Healthcare systems are enticing targets for cybercriminals. Private health information can net a large profit on the dark web, making even just one patient’s personal records a potentially lucrative discovery. For cyber terrorists, the goal is even simpler: get in. Do damage. Get out. Their objective is only to create fear and distrust— something they can accomplish quite effectively by making people feel unsafe at their hospitals.

Contents
Why Hospitals Are So VulnerableClosuresCreates FearCripples ProductivityKeeping Hospitals Safe

This is all to say that hospital cyber-security breaches can have a devastating impact on the people impacted.

Why Hospitals Are So Vulnerable

Hospital networks are beholden to very strict cybersecurity laws. The same HIPAA regulations that have been protecting patient privacy since the 90s are now applied to digital healthcare technology to ensure that patients enjoy the same level of privacy even in cyberspace. This involves elaborate rules and regulations for how healthcare professionals can use patient data, but it also applies to the software itself. Firewalls and encryption are in place to strengthen cyber security and protect patient records.

Criminals get in anyway.

More Read

electric motorbikes and big data
AI Paves the Way for a New Era of Electric Motorbikes
How the Financial Services Industry Should Use Big Data to Regain Trust
CSAT KPIs: Measuring What Customers Really Think
Big Data is the Biggest Gift to Real Estate Brokers in the Past Century
How Cloud Computing And Robotics Play A Role In Industrial Automation

There are a few factors that lend to their cause:

  • Hackers often operate beyond the law’s reach: Cybercrime is harder to regulate because attacks can be launched from anywhere in the world. If a group of Russian hackers attacks a rural hospital, there isn’t much that Iowa PD is going to be able to do about it.
  • They have a lot of access points: Putting patient records in the cloud gave patients an unprecedented level of control and autonomy over their health, but it also created millions of access points for potential hackers. They don’t necessarily need to break into the hospital’s network. If a patient with mobile healthcare technology on their phone uses the wrong WIFI hotspot or opens a questionable link, that could be all it takes.
  • Small mistakes have big ramifications: Most of the data breaches that you hear about on the news aren’t the result of some elaborate Oceans 11-type heist. Usually, it happens because someone opened a phishing email. Hackers need only the smallest opening to get in. Once they access a system, they can lurk there undetected for years.

All of these points of vulnerability give criminals a big advantage over hospitals.

Closures

Healthcare costs are so high for citizens that the idea that a hospital could itself go bankrupt seems absurd, or even obscene. And yet, it happens— most often in small towns and rural communities. In 2019, several dozen primarily rural hospitals closed their doors for good. Then, the pandemic hit. Rather than driving up business for hospitals as one might expect, it cost them hundreds of millions of dollars.

More closed.

Most hospitals operate on razor-thin margins. When a major event takes place— a pandemic, or a cyber security breach— it can have a devastating, sometimes permanent impact on the local community. Through strong leadership and constant vigilance, hospitals everywhere can stay safe from cyber attacks.

The average hospital data breach costs almost ten million dollars. For hospitals already operating within the margins of bankruptcy, that can be enough to do them in.

When hospitals close, it puts an enormous strain on the community they used to serve, and nearby hospitals that now have to absorb their medical needs.

Creates Fear

Establishing fear is sometimes the full motivation of a cyber-attack. In the Spring of 2019, a group of cyber terrorists called Wizard Spider hacked into Ireland’s digital healthcare network and locked the nation out of its own records. They demanded tens of millions of dollars— an outlandish sum that they most likely never had any intention of collecting.

What they wanted was to create fear, and that’s what they did. Ireland took the standard line and declined to negotiate with terrorists. Wizard Spider managed to keep them locked out for six weeks. During that time, hundreds of patients had their healthcare records published online.

If it can happen to Ireland, it can certainly happen to your local rural hospital. In fact, that’s part of the message. When strangers can reach out from anywhere in the world to make a highly coordinated cyber-attack, no hospital is safe.

That fear can lead to people deciding to stay away from organized healthcare altogether. Not only is this bad for them, but it also further harms the hospital itself. The legitimacy of that fear only worsens the situation. Breaches truly can happen anywhere, and they directly impact local citizens.

Cripples Productivity

Cyber-attacks also have a big impact on how hospitals are able to operate. We mentioned earlier that the Ireland breach resulted in six weeks of total system lockout. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg. It can take months to fully recover from the effects of a large-scale cyber-attack.

During that time the hospital won’t be completely destabilized but it also won’t be at its peak. Now, couple that with the plain fact that most hospitals are already in a tight spot because of staffing shortages, and a bigger problem begins to emerge.

Even in the best circumstances, hospitals have a difficult job. Throw in more obstacles and it can have a direct and negative impact on patient outcomes.

Keeping Hospitals Safe

Fortunately, it isn’t hard to keep hospitals safe. Regularly maintaining your cyber security networks does most of the legwork. Everything else is just a matter of staying alert. As mentioned earlier, the majority of breaches are the result of small mistakes.

Regular training and education efforts can go a long way toward keeping hospitals safe. While the work of keeping a hospital safe from cybercrime isn’t hard, it is a constant responsibility.

TAGGED:prevent data breachessecurity breaches
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
ByRyan Ayers
Follow:
Ryan Ayers has consulted a number of Fortune 500 companies within multiple industries including information technology and big data. After earning his MBA in 2010, Ayers also began working with start-up companies and aspiring entrepreneurs, with a keen focus on data collection and analysis.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

data analytics and truck accident claims
How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
predictive analytics for interior designers
Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
Analytics Exclusive Predictive Analytics
big data and cybercrime
Stopping Lateral Movement in a Data-Heavy, Edge-First World
Big Data Exclusive
AI and data mining
What the Rise of AI Web Scrapers Means for Data Teams
Artificial Intelligence Big Data Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

VPN data security
Security

Critical Importance of a VPN in the Age of Data Breaches

7 Min Read
data breaches and their relationship with diversity
Big Data

Big Data Insights Show Surprising Impact of Diversity on Likelihood of Successful Ransomware Attacks

11 Min Read
prevent data breaches
Security

7 Ways To Prevent Data Breaches With Technology And Training

8 Min Read
cloud data security tips
Cloud Computing

4 Guidelines for Protecting Your Data with Cloud Backup Software

5 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data
ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?