Healthcare data security has become an increasingly critical issue in recent years. As healthcare organizations digitize patient records and leverage connected medical devices and health apps, they also expand their attack surface for cybercriminals. Breaches of healthcare data can have severe consequences for both healthcare providers and patients.
This article provides an overview of healthcare data security, including what constitutes protected health information (PHI), the scope of threats healthcare organizations face, the unique challenges of securing healthcare data, and best practices for bolstering data security in the healthcare sector.
What is Considered Protected Health Information (PHI)?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes national standards for the protection of individually identifiable health information. This includes medical records and any data that healthcare organizations, including hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices, health apps from any telehealth app development company, and insurance companies, collect and maintain.
Specifically, the following constitutes protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA:
- Names
- Geographic data (addresses, GPS coordinates)
- Dates (birth dates, dates of death, admission/discharge dates)
- Phone/fax numbers
- Email addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Medical record numbers
- Health plan numbers
- Vehicle or device identifiers
- Biometric data (fingerprints, voiceprints)
- Photographic images
- Any unique identifying number or code
In addition to clinical data (test results, medications, procedures), PHI encompasses any information that could identify the patient. As such, healthcare data security measures must cover a broad spectrum of data points.
Key Threats to Healthcare Data Security
Healthcare organizations have proven to be lucrative targets for cyberattacks, given the breadth of sensitive personal data they collect and store. Key threats that highlight the importance of data security in healthcare include:
Malware Infections
As with any sector, healthcare organizations are vulnerable to malware like ransomware, viruses, spyware, and botnets delivered through phishing emails, infected websites, and applications. These types of cyberattacks can cripple hospital systems and operations.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks
By flooding hospital networks with bogus traffic, hackers can prevent legitimate access and essentially shut down connectivity for doctors, nurses, clinicians and patients.
Data Theft and Breaches
Because medical identity theft is extremely lucrative, hackers frequently attempt to steal caches of patient data and protected health information. Breached records can be sold for 50 to 100 on the dark web – much higher than stolen credit card numbers.
Insider Threats
Disgruntled employees or medical staff may take advantage of privileged access rights to intentionally leak or expose patient data. Unintentional insider threats like falling victim to phishing or misconfigured databases also pose substantial risks.
Medical Device Hacks
Internet-connected medical devices like MRI machines, defibrillators, infusion pumps and more expand the healthcare attack surface. Vulnerabilities could allow hackers to tamper with device functionality or the data they collect and transmit.
Unique Challenges of Healthcare Data Security
While all industries grapple with cyber risk, health data security poses unique challenges, including:
Strict Data Privacy Regulations
In addition to HIPAA compliance in the U.S., healthcare organizations around the world must adhere to strict patient privacy regulations and data security mandates. Failing to meet requirements can spur heavy fines.
Highly Distributed Environments
Large healthcare networks comprise many hospitals, outpatient clinics and small private practices. Securing PHI across disparate systems with varying levels of sophistication strains resources.
Increasing Connectivity with Medical Devices
Internet-connected medical data security devices introduce new data security in healthcare requirements. As the Internet of Medical Things market swells, so too does the attack surface.
Limited Cybersecurity Budget/Resources
Many healthcare organizations cite insufficient budgets and a lack of qualified security staff as barriers to improving data protection. Cybersecurity may not seem as critical as patient care initiatives when funds are scarce.
User Security Apathy
Doctors, nurses, and other staff may fail to appreciate the criticality of patient data security measures or view them as impediments to efficiency and productivity. Lax security habits like using weak passwords or falling for phishing introduce a substantial risk of data exposure.
Best Practices for Securing Healthcare Data
Bolstering security and compliance requires addressing challenges through technological and process controls. Key best practices that healthcare entities should prioritize include:
Carefully Evaluating Connected Devices and Apps
With the rising popularity of telehealth services, remote patient monitoring programs, and mobile health apps, provider organizations must thoroughly vet products for privacy and security before deployment.
Improving Endpoint Security
Installing antivirus/anti-malware software across all devices, keeping software regularly updated, restricting application installs, and promptly patching known OS and browser vulnerabilities are imperative for reducing malware and phishing threats.
Securing Email Communications
Given email’s role in cyber intrusions, solutions like encrypted email, data loss prevention controls, restricted file sharing, and enhanced phishing simulations help harden messaging environments.
Adopting Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA across all systems, and especially remote access pathways like VPN and cloud platforms, provides an extra layer of identity assurance during login attempts.
Protecting Patient Portals
As the adoption of patient engagement platforms grows, so too does the need for robust controls around data access, transmission, and storage. Proper portal security is paramount.
Securing Data with Encryption
Encrypting data, whether at rest, in transit, or during use, prevents unauthorized access even when other defenses fail. For example, mobile device encryption protects if devices are lost or stolen.
Monitoring for Threats
Deploying specialized tools like security information and event management (SIEM) systems, intrusion detection/prevention appliances, and data loss prevention software improves visibility into potential attacks and suspicious user behavior.
Ensuring Proper Cloud Configuration
Migrating data storage, applications, databases, and other assets to the cloud can shore up security – if configured optimally. Identity and access management, data encryption, VPC controls, and activity monitoring all help secure cloud deployments.
Maintaining Regulatory Compliance
In addition to mandatory HIPAA compliance, healthcare entities may need to implement controls to align with other relevant regulations in their jurisdiction, like GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, etc. Staying atop changing requirements is key.
The Importance of Prioritizing Healthcare Data Security
Without robust security controls and staff commitment to safe data handling, healthcare organizations leave patient health information vulnerable to compromise. The consequences of lax protections extend far beyond fines for non-compliance. Data breaches can devastate patient trust in the healthcare system, introduce medical identity theft risks, expose sensitive diagnosis details, and even impact patient health if critical data is made unavailable due to an attack.
By understanding modern cyber threats and dedicating resources to enterprise-wide data security healthcare initiatives, healthcare providers, payors, medical device manufacturers, and health apps can avoid becoming the next victim of a devastating breach while also reassuring patients that their private medical information remains protected. As data volumes continue swelling alongside connectivity to new technologies, prioritizing healthcare data security only grows in criticality.