Page 18 - HMEB Business, February 2017

Data Security for HME Providers
Cybercrime damages will reach $6 trillion annually by 2021. Is your sensitive data safe?
By Joseph Duffy
While data security can make for hot headline fodder when
it comes to Capitol Hill, it is a ever present day concern for American businesses of all sizes. We’d like to think that the world of hacking and data security breaches occurs in the lofty environs
of Manhattan high rises, where large corporations fall prey to sophisti- cated schemes. But the reality of data security is that hacking and malware attacks impact all businesses and industries, including healthcare.
For any company that collects data, does online transactions or uses third-party vendors, data security has become a major concern. According to CSO from IDG (bit.ly/2ila57J):
• Cybercrime damage cost will hit $6 trillion annually by 2021.
• Cybersecurity spending will exceed $1 trillion from 2017 to 2021.
• Up to 200 billion connected devices will need securing by 2020. More importantly, healthcare business are ripe targets for some forms
of data security attacks, because the information they hold — records on patient health — is so precious and so private. More importantly, healthcare business are ripe targets for some forms of data security attacks, because the information they hold — records on patient health — is so precious and so private. For instance, ransomware, which is malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money (or ransom) is
paid, has hit the healthcare industry harder than other industries. According to Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review (bit.ly/2jB0A5D), approximately 88 percent of all ransomware attacks are against hospitals.
“Healthcare has become one of the top, if not the top, targets for hackers. Healthcare data is rich with information that hackers can profit from,” explains Jeremy Kauten, CIO and senior vice president of IT, VGM Group, Inc. Kauten is a data security expert who has spoken about the topic to various industries around the world. “Each of those personal data points is valuable on the cyber black market.
“While large businesses such as Target, Anthem and major health systems often make the news media after a breach, the majority of breaches exist in small business,” he says. “Small businesses with less than 1,000 employees do not have the resources to fund a sophisticated IT security budget.
“According to the FBI, ransomware payments alone exceeded $1 billion in 2016,” he continues. “Hackers run businesses that compete for employees with full benefits packages, as well as operate as a standalone hacking entity, or under a legitimate business as a front. Ransomware hackers even offer 24/7 tech support to help those who have paid them get their data back.”
(See “How Big of a Challenge Is Ransomware?” to learn more about how ransomware works, as well as the size of the ransomware threat facing HMEs)
18 HMEBusiness | February 2017 | hme-business.com
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