Whether it’s one of those cases where the truth is stranger than fiction is a matter of opinion, but one thing’s for sure, the network security gurus who relentlessly preach the inevitability of being hacked are consistently proven correct.
Cyber attacks are particularly common among healthcare providers with a reported 62% experiencing an adverse event in just the past year. And when you dig-in for the details, yet another cyber-axiom is quickly revealed: while outside attacks continue to be of primary concern, more than half of the reported incidents are the result of employee maliciousness and/or negligence.
Although patient medical records, billing information and clinical research may still represent the hacker’s most popular targets, the paths to new forms of expensive, if not frightening disruption are exploding. Case in point; every single medical device that is connected to a network is a breach opportunity. Put another way, every single medical device that can be operated remotely presents unthinkable possibilities.
Can you imagine the look on former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney’s face when he was told the Wi-Fi broadcast feature on his pacemaker needed to be disabled? What about the IT professional who notifies his/her leadership that the system’s million dollar per day MRI network must be shut down pending a security upgrade? Of course, the point is, why should any of us be surprised?
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The industry’s digital transformation is in high gear, as reform has made it a matter of economic necessity. Technology continues to expand the care continuum. Supply chains are playing catch up. While digital monitoring has long been a fact of life inside the walls of a hospital, the care networks that now rely on devices capable of remotely packaging and transmitting data are everywhere. We even wear them.
Date: July 17, 2018
Source: Forbes