Hospitals and health care providers are ‘easy targets’ according to experts. Cyber criminals can make ten times more money hacking someone’s medical records rather than their credit card details, new research has shown.
The FBI has warned US health care providers of the new threat after a group of Chinese hackers stole personal information from 4.5 million patients after targeting the computer network of Community Health Systems Inc.
“Medical identity theft is a serious problem that can have devastating consequences for victims,” said the FBI in a statement.
These criminals not only gain access to sensitive and personal health information, but they also may receive fictitious medical services and procedures in the victim’s name, which can ruin the victim’s credit and cause significant financial loss.
“Hospitals and health care providers are easy targets because of the vast amounts of patient data they maintain and their reliance on outdated systems,” said Adam Kujawa, head of Malware Intelligence at Malwarebytes.
In order to protect themselves, hospitals need to invest in advanced endpoint security solutions and make sure that all their systems are up-to-date.
Cyber criminals are targeting hospitals and health care providers because they know that these organizations have a vast amount of personal and sensitive patient data. This data is valuable to criminals because they can use it to commit identity theft or fraud.
Hospitals need to be aware of this new threat and take steps to protect themselves. One way to do this is to invest in advanced endpoint security solutions that will help to keep their systems safe and secure. Additionally, hospitals should make sure that all of their systems are up-to-date in order to reduce the risk of being targeted by criminals.
Read more on the Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2769109/Forget-credit-card-details-hackers-make-money-stealing-medical-records.html
