Following the federal crackdown of Silk Road, more people became aware of the digital black market for drugs and professional killers known as the dark web. While mostly untrue stories ran away with 'hitmen for hire' headlines, something much more pressing was lurking in the shadows - identity theft.
The dark web is brimming with stolen credit card numbers and email passwords, and while these may be invaluable to you, in actuality these are sold for chump change. A single credit card with complete information can be sold for as little as $6 to $30. Most cybercriminals prefer to purchase large batches or 'data dumps' since each card can only be used until it expires or is canceled. Healthcare records, on the other hand, are much more valuable.
CyberPolicy offers healthcare cybersecurity insurance to protect patients and practices from the harmful effects of cybercriminals, data breach and identity theft.
Health, Wealth & Cybercrime
According to reports, medical information is worth between 10 and 40 times more than your credit card number on the black market! Especially when records contain a social security number which, unlike a credit card number, never changes.
This hijacked personal info can be used for tax fraud! According to the Government Accountability Office, the IRS paid $5.8 billion in 2013 tax refunds where the victim's identity was stolen. Criminal syndicates will trade skills and purloined data on the dark net to cause as much damage as possible.
In 2015, almost 100 million healthcare records were compromised, making them the hottest hacker target around. So how do you keep your most private information safe?
The first thing you should do is designate a security team to monitor records for any evidence of tampering. Audit logs are a wonderful way to understand who is accessing your files and why. Next, secure electronic files at rest and in transit using encryption so only the intended recipients can read their contents. Finally, backup and preserve your data in a safe place to reduce the damages of cyber extortion or ransomware attacks. You may also benefit for digital stress testing, where white hat hackers test your security protocols without damaging your network.
What happens if your system is hacked anyway? The truth of the matter is healthcare professionals cannot afford not to have cyber insurance.
CyberPolicy's healthcare cybersecurity insurance covers your practice and your patients in the event of a cyberattack. Still, you should ensure that all your patient records are encrypted and your company's cybersecurity measures are up to date.
What's covered by healthcare cybersecurity insurance?
And more.
If you want to expand coverage for your medical office needs, consider visiting CyberPolicy's parent company CoverHound for more information about business insurance."
