The convenience, efficiency and cost benefits cloud computing offers organizations has made moving healthcare data and records to the cloud make sense for hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers. Security and data breaches are a concern for any industry utilizing the cloud, but healthcare unfortunately seems to be particularly vulnerable to attacks. The Washington Post recently reported that The Department of Homeland Security is fearful that the health industry is “inviting” an attack with its out-of-date policies and lack of oversight.
A recent WIRED article discussed the current state of healthcare information in the cloud, including specifics on the vulnerabilities facing healthcare providers using cloud applications and why consumers should be concerned about their healthcare data being on the cloud.
According to the article, hackers are particularly interested in healthcare information because of its comparatively substantial dollar value. An individual’s medical identity can be worth as much as $50, a significant amount considering a social security number is worth just $1. With personal medical information in hand, thieves are able to commit medical identity theft by using someone else’s personal information to receive goods or services, potentially wreaking havoc on that person’s records and creating liabilities for service providers and increasing costs for everyone.