Cybersecurity Threats in Healthcare Organizations:

Exposing Vulnerabilities in the Healthcare Information Infrastructure

Abstract

The healthcare industry has been brought to the limelight with the recent COVID19 pandemic. Everyday, the world waited for information from various data warehouses to report positive cases as well as effective treatment processes that help direct patient care. It was in 2009 that the HITECH Act was passed to promote and expand the adoption of health information technology, by converting paper records into computerized or electronic records to improve quality and safety of care through efficient, and timely exchange of information between the patient and the members of the healthcare team. Today, 30% of the world’s data belong to the healthcare industry. As healthcare data exponentially increase, so does the security and privacy threats to consumer’s personal and medical information. Both government and private advocacy agencies have created policies and standards to safeguard the public against cybercrimes. But what is imperative is transparency among healthcare organizations in exposing the potential vulnerabilities in their technology infrastructure so that collaborative strategies are created to address these cybersecurity threats. The Anthem security breach is provided as an example to identify weaknesses in healthcare organizations. Recommendations for healthcare organizations are provided as well as the role of consumers in the prevention of cybercrimes in healthcare is discussed.