Your doctor’s office likely doesn’t have any digital security for its mammography machines, heart pumps and other devices that are vulnerable to hacking, according to a new study.
In a survey of 80 health care organizations in the U.S., the Ponemon Institute found that nearly three-quarters said they don’t secure their medical devices, even though they contain sensitive patient data. The organizations were not named.
“This finding may reflect the possibility that they believe it is the responsibility of the vendor — not the health care provider — to protect these devices,” said the report by Ponemon, an independent research organization.
The results point to a new danger to patients’ privacy at a time when medical providers are moving toward electronic records and the sharing of files on so-called health information exchanges.
The digital risks for health care firms are growing. Hacking attacks against medical providers are becoming more frequent and breaches are getting more expensive, Ponemon found. Ninety-four percent of respondents said they had at least one data breach in the past two years, up from 86 percent in 2010. Many breaches cost the organizations more than $1 million.
More here: http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-12-06-many-doctors-dont-secure-medical-devices-from-hackers-study-finds/
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