Why is Cybersecurity Important?

Why is Cybersecurity Important?

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Every day, the Indian Health Service (IHS) handles critical health and identity data that criminals consider high-value. According to the HIPAA Journal website Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , from the start of August, 2020 to the end of July, 2021, there have been 706 reported healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records and the healthcare data of 44,369,781 individuals has been exposed or compromised. That's an average of 58.8 data breaches and around 3.70 million records per month.

In July, 2021, hackers gained access to healthcare providers and their business associates and gained access to the protected health information of more than 5.2 million individuals. The table below gives a breakdown of the 14 incidents that occurred in July, 2021.

Type of Breach	Breach Cause	Covered Entity Type	Individuals Affected	Business Associate Present
Hacking/IT Incident	Brute force attack (Member portal)	Health Plan	30,063	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Phishing attack	Healthcare Provider	35,587	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Phishing attack	Healthcare Provider	447,426	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack	Healthcare Provider	45,148	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack	Healthcare Provider	62,342	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack	Healthcare Provider	700,981	No
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack (Elekta)	Healthcare Provider	28,628	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack (Elekta)	Healthcare Provider	64,600	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack (Elekta)	Healthcare Provider	68,707	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack	Business Associate	1,210,688	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Ransomware attack (Accellion FTA)	Business Associate	84,220	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Unspecified hacking incident	Healthcare Provider	2,413,553	Yes
Hacking/IT Incident	Unspecified hacking incident	Business Associate	30,468	Yes
Improper Disposal	Improper disposal of electronic medical records	Healthcare Provider	122,340	No

Through these breaches, malicious actors are able to gain access to sensitive information that they can sell or use in any number of lucrative ways including stealing identities, submitting fraudulent insurance claims, or opening fraudulent credit card or other banking accounts, just to name a few.

In April, 2021, Forbes Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  wrote that three trends in cybersecurity that businesses and governments need to protect against are:

• Expanding Cyber-Attack Surface
  As more and more data becomes electronic due to expanding telework, the internet of things, medical devices that connect to the Internet, supply chains, etc., the more critical it becomes to protect systems and data.
• Ransomware as a Cyber Weapon of Choice
  According to a research study by Deep Instinct Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , malware increased by 358% overall and ransomware increased by 435% in 2020 as compared with 2019. And the average ransomware payout has grown to nearly $234,000 per event Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , according to cybersecurity firm Coveware.
• Threats Against Critical Infrastructure; Infrastructure Critical Systems, Operational Technology/Information Technology Cyber-Threat Convergence
  Recent attacks against the Colonial Pipeline, the JBS meat packing plant, and a water treatment plant in Florida highlight the vulnerabilities posed by our increasing computerization of critical systems. These vulnerabilities pose risks to the financial and physical safety of individuals, communities, and governments worldwide.