Hacking your health

What is private and secure in healthcare?

Cybersecurity breaches hit an all-time high in 2021. 45 million individuals were affected by healthcare attacks, up from 34 million in 2020.

Cybersecurity remains a huge market and will surpass $35.5bn by 2027.

Hackers are increasingly using IoT devices to gain access to sensitive patient data, with Ransomware attacks grew by 435% in 2020 from 2019, according to Deep Instinct study. Ransomware is emerging as a particularly alarming prospect for the healthcare cybersecurity industry. 

Given all of this, regulators are busy reconstructing cybersecurity privacy rules to help address the ever-changing landscape of healthcare:

• FDA Commissioner Roger Corman has proposed a bill that would require the FDA to issue regular guidelines for medical device cybersecurity.

• The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and Connected Health Initiative (CHI) offered recommendations for OCR. MGMA suggested easy-to-understand checklists to help IT leaders understand "real-world approaches" to cybersecurity.

• Senators and President Biden are looking to expand and solidify the protections of HIPAA for people seeking reproductive care

• The American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADDPA) was released for consideration in June. ADDPA broadly defines sensitive data and will require additional protections for such data. The bill would be enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as by state attorneys general in civil actions.

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In the News

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Health advertising on Facebook: Privacy and policy considerations

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Health Information Privacy Laws in the Digital Age: HIPAA Doesn't Apply

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Cybersecurity and Health Care: How Hacking is Costing Lives

Harvard Medical School

In May 2021, Scripps Health in San Diego was brought down by a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a type of virus that locks away important data until a ransom is paid to hackers. In 2020, cyberattacks on health care institutions increased by over 55%. In the era of COVID-19, increased reliance on network-based technology has allowed new vulnerabilities to emerge. Human error is responsible for most data breaches, and this is usually due to poor cyber hygiene. Manufacturers of medical devices are focused on patient health and safety, not on cybersecurity.

HIPAA Protection Slides Post-Roe, Healthcare Cybersecurity Under Siege

Healthcare Exec Intelligence

Healthcare data breach costs reach record high at $10M per attack: IBM report

Fierce Healthcare

Congress is finally taking medical cybersecurity seriously

The Verge