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More encryption needed in Healthcare IT

The healthcare industry has become one of the most targeted sectors for cybercrime. The move from paper filing systems to electronic health records (EHRs) has given a data thieves ample reason to try and crack hospital networks due to the value of medical data. According to a report issued by RSA, the average profit gained from an instance of medical identity theft is $20,000. Regular identity theft, on the other hand, results in an average payout of $2,000. 

With the information contained on healthcare networks becoming so valuable, data thieves are targeting hospitals more frequently. Ninety-four percent of medical facilities experienced at least one data breach during the past two years, according to a study released by the Ponemon Institute. In addition, 45 percent said they had been the victims of more than five in that same time frame.

To combat the growing threat of cybercrime, many healthcare centers are investing more heavily into cybersecurity. Information Security Media Group's "Healthcare Information Security Today" study found that the most common initiative taken by healthcare administrators was to increase staff training on privacy and security issues. Seventy-three percent of the study's respondents identified increased training as a priority.

However, data encryption continues to be an area of concern in the healthcare industry. Only 41 percent said they planned to implement encryption techniques in the next year. Medical facilities were found to be lacking proper protocols to encrypt data both when it is stored and when it is in-transit. A mere 47 percent of respondents said their organization encrypted data being sent across the network. As more physicians take advantage of the ability to share EHR data, it will become more important than ever to employ encryption in the healthcare industry.

Unencrypted information is at risk to be accessed by cybercriminals. Protect critical data with an SSL certificate.

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