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HEALTHCARE DATA AND YOU

While any breached entity is a concern, the healthcare industry in particular can have
some serious ramifications given the sensitive information stored in their systems. For

example, health insurance information for patients and employees usually includes
Social Security numbers, dates of birth, diagnoses, prescriptions and even payment

information. These pieces of data can be used to commit multiple types of identity
theft. Case in point, a phishing attack at UnityPoint Health exposed information for

1.4 million patients and included all the information mentioned above, as well as driver’s license
numbers. Unfortunately medical records need to contain medical history, but the necessity

of keeping information like driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers stored on
servers (particularly if medical record numbers serve as unique identifiers) remains to be seen.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR INDUSTRY?

In the digital age where the convenience and ease of storing information allows for smoother

interactions between companies and consumers, the need for strong data security and privacy
and continued vigilance should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Monetizing consumer

data is the primary goal for thieves. Unauthorized use of consumers’ personally identifiable
information leads to identity theft, which can cause lasting repercussions for the victims.

Consumers and businesses are consistently

faced with the dilemma of convenience versus
security. Consumers feel very strongly, and

rightly so, that businesses should be putting
better measures in place to protect their data.

However with the yearly increase in instances
of identity theft, and the increase in the number

of records exposed in data breaches, the
responsibility for data security rests both on

consumers and businesses.

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