There seems to be no end to news about cyber attacks in the healthcare sector.
In Michigan alone, cybersecurity breaches have affected millions of people, including those involved in the following incidents:
- McLaren Healthcare was hit by cybercriminals in August, disrupting its entire system of 13 hospitals, including the Karmanos Cancer Institute, which meant delays to cancer radiation treatments and cardiac tests for some patients. It also suffered a ransomware attack in August 2023.
- In May, a cyberattack disrupted operations at St. Louis-based Ascension Hospital, the largest Catholic health system in the United States. For weeks, the attack affected patient care at Ascension’s Michigan hospitals. Employees told the Free Press that ambulances had to be diverted to other hospitals, pharmacies were crippled, some procedures were rescheduled and imaging and lab test results were delayed.
- Also in May, a cyberattack on Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medical center, exposed personal information of more than 56,000 people, including names, medical record numbers, addresses, dates of birth, diagnostic and treatment information, and health insurance details.
- And a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth subsidiary and healthcare payment processor, exposed the personal data of as many as one-third of Americans and created huge backlogs of medical billing, delaying patients from receiving prescriptions and doctors from getting paid for their services.
Some may feel powerless in this situation, Cyble, an Atlanta-based cybersecurity companysaid there are steps people can take to mitigate the damage.
How to protect your health data
While much of healthcare is moving toward digital medical records, online patient portals, lab results and schedules, Medje said: Have paper copies of all medical records.
“People need to have a backup plan in case their healthcare provider is breached, meaning they can no longer rely on the computer system that stores all of the data and information about their condition, prescriptions and medical issues,” Medhe said.
“It is always good to have a paper record of a patient’s condition, test results, doctors, prescriptions and medical history. If an emergency occurs at a medical facility, the patient can easily access this information and go to another medical facility for treatment. This is an important point.”
Also, be sure toUnderstanding Health Insurance Benefits and Have a printed copy of your insurance details.
Medhe says some things to know include: “What is their coverage? What are the limits? Emergency contact details, etc. If possible, keep a personal file so that if you get logged out of the system or the service provider’s website goes down, you can walk up to an alternate health care provider and seek medical assistance.”
Additionally, Medhe said consumers should be aware of the following: Monitor suspicious activity It connects with health data, bank accounts, insurance plans, and other service providers.
“Please be vigilant,” he said. “Do not disclose sensitive information to strangers over the phone or on social media, do not reply or react to suspicious links, and do not click on any links on your phone or laptop. This is a good way to reduce the chances of your data being compromised or falling victim to a phishing attack.”
he, Implement multi-factor authentication for all accountsand you Regularly update your devices for security patches and upgrades.
And if a breach does occur and data is leaked, Sign up for a credit monitoring service These are often provided free of charge after the fact.
“You should definitely take advantage of this,” Medhe said. “To stay safe, you can always use a dark web monitoring tool that will alert you if your username or password is up for sale or publicly available on the dark web.”
One such tool he pointed to was Has it been violated?is available through Cyble.
Contact Kristen Shamus at [email protected]. Subscribe to the Free Press.
