The recent high-profile data breaches that affected Anthem Inc. and more recently Premera Blue Cross point to an unwelcome trend in cybercrime. Cyber criminals have come to realize the value of medical records, which contain a great deal of personal and financial information about individual patients, often including social security numbers.
Unfortunately, health care records are also being targeted in part because they are easier to obtain than data from many other industries.
An article in Modern Health Care described the amount of information accessible from medical records as ideal for “total identity theft,” which is one of the most potentially harmful scenarios for anyone whose records have been stolen.
Electronic health records will only become more ubiquitous over time and HIPAA regulations include strict rules for data security and data handling. However, health care companies have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to reliably protecting patient data.
As an MSP, it’s important to be well-versed in the regulations that apply to all of your client industries’ data, including health care records. Because cybercriminals are concentrating so heavily on health care records right now, this is another instance where Cyber Insurance could literally save your business.
In another Modern Health Care article, it is mentioned that Anthem specifically credits their cyber security insurance policy with cushioning the company from “material” financial impact from the breach.
MSPAlliance members can purchase Cloud and MSP Insurance, including Cyber Liability Insurance, at very competitive rates.