These days, healthcare professionals have to be more than just healthcare professionals, writes Kelli Dame for Fox News. They have to be cybersecruity experts, too.
A sharp rise in cybertheft — including last summer, when Chinese hackers stole 4.5 million patients' personal data in what is possibly the largest breach of its kind — has plenty of IT security officials concerned.The most vexing aspect of the problem? That thieves can make off with medical records and it can be as long as a year or two before anybody notices that the theft even happened.
When thieves get that information, it often leads to more personal information being gathered, cybersecurity experts say, and can even lead to medical equipment at a facility to malfunction.
Firms like Sikich, Security & Compliance help companies against thieves by mimicking a cyberattack and letting companies know where their vulnerabilities are.
"It's interesting, we're the good guys, but pretty much doing what the bad guys are doing, we just got your permission first," Kevin Bong with Sikich, told Ms. Dame. "We find something during every test we do."
"I think we're seeing the trend where the medical industry is being targeted ... so the weaknesses are coming to light," said Bong.
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