As cybercriminals continue to employ increasingly sophisticated techniques to steal privileged data, healthcare providers are coming under more attacks than ever before, making it harder to keep patient information safe. It is time to consider secure solutions like fax over IP.
For example, a U.K. hospital system announced this week that it lost the personal information of more than 40,000 patients treated by paramedics. The electronic copies of handwritten notes regarding approximately 42,000 patients have gone missing from the East Midlands Ambulance Service at the National Health Service Trust headquarters, raising concerns about healthcare data security.
Healthcare data breaches on the rise
Unfortunately for U.S. patients, things don't look much better stateside. According to a CNN report, healthcare providers face more cyberthreats than the military and banking sectors combined. A recent study by the Ponemon Institute seems to back this up, finding that 90 percent of medical organizations compromised patient information or had it stolen in 2012 and 2013. So far this year the industry has been hit by more than 200 security incidents resulting in the exposure of 2.1 million records
Healthcare data is so heavily targeted by cybercriminals because they can use the information to submit fraudulent charges to insurance providers, receive free medical services by impersonating the legitimate owner or obtaining prescriptions to sell later. Illegally accessed medical data is also desirable because of the high price it garners on the black market. Where a stolen credit card number may go for $1, a medical record is likely to fetch $50.
Adding to the problem is the fact that many healthcare providers are using outdated technology that no longer receives security updates, making it impossible to patch vulnerabilities hackers use to steal information. At the same time, many medical organizations are scrambling to transition physical patient records to newly required electronic health records, letting security concerns fall to the wayside.
"They can't keep up [with hackers]," said J.D. Sherry, who advises hospitals for cybersecurity firm Trend Micro. "Their resources are tremendously overwhelmed. With day-to-day business, IT security is not top of mind."
Protecting patient information with FoIP
Providers struggling with managing massive amounts of EHR while still maintaining information security can make things easier by implementing a fax over IP solution. FoIP simplifies the process of sending and receiving patient documents while simultaneously archiving and protecting records to help ensure HIPAA regulations are met. FoIP service providers like FaxCore utilize cloud technology to store sensitive health information, keeping each organization's information on dedicated servers to avoid accidentally exposing data. Cloud storage also allows healthcare providers to have a secure EHR database that is easy to search and manage from anywhere with an Internet connection.
When faxes are sent with a Fax over IP service, the information within is stored and encrypted, increasing document security. FoIP improves patient care with this technology. The archived records stored are accessible anytime but can only be read by an authorized party with the decryption code.
Enhance enterprise communication, collaboration and compliance efforts with a proven FoIP solution from FaxCore. Contact FaxCore today to learn more about their 'Partly-Cloudy' fax solutions.
