Why your medical information is gold for hackers
The popularity of personal health information (PHI) is increasing among hackers, and its value continues to escalate on the black market. Medical information is especially enticing for hackers because it includes personal details such as height and eye colour that can be used to create fake identities. According to a recent FBI presentation, stolen health insurance information fetched a price of $60-70 (£42-49) on the black market, as opposed to less than a dollar for a Social Security Number.
Rampant security hacks are impacting the bottom line of healthcare organisations. The Ponemon Institute states that more than 90 per cent of hospitals and healthcare facilities in its annual study had suffered a data breach (costing an average of more than $2.1m [£1.5m] per organisation); and 40 per cent had had five or more over the past two years. This trend is expected to continue. An IDC Health Insights report predicts 1 in 3 health records will be breached in 2016.
