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Posts Tagged ‘hackers’

Why Should You Bother with Information Security? Isn’t Everything Hackable Anyway?

Thursday, June 1st, 2017

With the ever-increasing flow of large-scale hacks, many seem resigned to the fact that its only a matter of time before they get hit too. Security and its challenges have fully penetrated mainstream thought. Everyone knows that the CIA, the FBI, Russia, and even the hacker next door can break into your computer or phone, hijack your router, intercept your traffic, and take over your life.

In response, there has been a huge cry for better training, more secure software, secure email and secure texting. Basically, security everywhere. But if the hackers and agencies are really this powerful, why should you bother?

Cynbersecurity

Are security services and products worth anything these days? Do they actually provide any protection? Or are they the emperor’s new bullet-proof-vest? It is surprising how many people have come to accept a complete lack of security. Some seem to use this as an excuse to avoid technologies that could benefit both their personal and business lives.

A great example comes from a dentist who was interested in sending notices to his patients via text, but resigned himself to “not bothering” as there is “no way to secure these things, anyway.” While that may be true in an absolute sense, it is not true practically.

In this article we will examine the reasons why we should bother with security and how it can help us in our personal and business lives.

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Why Are Hackers Targeting Your Medical Records?

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017

Theft of Medical records is booming. Over the past few years, large scale breaches have become more common and increasingly severe. Last year in June, a hacker named thedarkoverlord was selling 650,000 US healthcare records as part of a long-running crime spree. The collection was listed on a deep web marketplace called the Real Deal for over $700,000 worth of Bitcoin.

A cancer treatment provider called 21st Century Oncology had 2.2 million patients records compromised in late 2015. The stolen data included patient names, the names of their doctors, social security numbers, insurance information, diagnoses and treatments. The company was required to notify all of the affected patients and they have also offered free credit protection for one year as partial compensation. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. According to Bitglass, 113 million Americans were affected by healthcare data breaches in 2015. This is almost 10 times more than the previous year. The IDC’s Health Insights group predicted that one in three patients would be the victim of a breach in 2016. This trend is likely to continue or even intensify over the coming years.

Theft of Medical Records

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