Stay updated with the latest healthcare cybersecurity trends, news, and tips to protect patient data and comply with medical industry security standards.
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Background for this topic.
Healthcare is the delivery of clinical care and related services through hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, insurers, and connected medical devices. It depends on electronic health records (EHRs), patient identity systems, diagnostic and imaging platforms, medication and scheduling systems, and data exchanges between organizations. These environments hold sensitive health and payment information, while the availability and integrity of systems can affect treatment, diagnostics, and patient safety.
Security concerns include unauthorized access or disclosure of records, alteration of clinical data, and disruption of care through attacks on EHRs, connected devices, or third-party services. Defenses require risk-based access controls, strong authentication, network separation where appropriate, secure device and software maintenance, backups that support clinical continuity, and tested downtime and incident-response procedures. Vulnerability management must account for legacy systems and devices that cannot be patched quickly. Privacy and compliance obligations, such as HIPAA in the United States, shape how organizations collect, use, share, retain, and report health information.
Reduced Staffing Disrupts Regulatory Work, Leaves Health Entities More VulnerableIf it lasts much longer, the federal government shutdown could prove to be highly disruptive, risky and increasingly unnerving for healthcare sector providers that depend upon federal agencies for cybersecurity-related support and resources, some experts said.
Hospital Sisters Health System's 2023 Hack Affected Nearly 900,000 PeopleA network of 13 Catholic hospitals, community health centers and clinics in the Midwest will pay $7.6 million and implement improvements to its data security practices to settle consolidated class action litigation filed in the aftermath of a 2023 hacking incident affecting nearly 900,000 people.
'Success Stories' Social Media Program Impermissibly Disclosed PHI of 150 PatientsA "Success Stories" marketing campaign by a Delaware nursing home that involved posting photos and names of patients on social media resulted in a $182,000 federal fine. Regulators say the company violated HIPAA rules through the unauthorized disclosure of patients' protected health information.
Medication Tech Firm Says Hacking Incident Contained to One Employee Email AccountA Florida firm that offers medication therapy management services to health plans is notifying nearly 150,000 individuals that their information was potentially compromised in a phishing attack affecting one employee's email account for only about an hour. Why do users still fall for phishing scams?
It's not just big tech anymore The North Korean IT worker threat extends well beyond tech companies, with fraudsters interviewing at a "surprising" number of healthcare orgs, according to Okta Threat Intelligence.…
2024 Cyberattack Was One of Several on Other Blood Suppliers in US, UKOneBlood, which provides blood supplies to 250 hospitals in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, will pay $1 million to settle proposed class action litigation filed against the non-profit entity in the wake of a 2024 ransomware attack that compromised the information of nearly 170,000 individuals.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has made everything more interconnected than ever, but an important US government security initiative is stuck in limbo even as threat actors step up attacks on everything from medical gear to printers.