Metomic today released its “Healthcare Data Crisis – Uncovering the Alarming Gaps in Data Security and Compliance” report, offering deep insights on all the ways insecure file-sharing practices are putting healthcare organizations at risk of a data breach. Metomic revealed that 25% of publicly shared files owned by healthcare organizations contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Sixty-eight percent of private files that have been shared externally (giving access to people outside of the organization) contained PII and 77% of private files shared internally.
While publicly shared files that contain highly sensitive data pose the biggest risk for healthcare organizations and underscore the need for data security and DLP tools, many of the access permissions for private files are never updated or removed. This leads to “stale data” living in places like Google Drive where multiple people continue to have access to files they no longer need or should not be able to retrieve, creating high-risk environments that could easily lead to a data breach.
Metomic’s findings are extremely alarming considering the spiraling trend of data breaches happening across the healthcare space, a highly regulated industry that must follow strict data standards and legislative policies such as HIPAA and GDPR. According to The HIPAA Journal, the healthcare industry experienced more data breaches in 2021 than any previous year. That upward trend has continued to rise. Not only did 2023 see a record number of data breaches, but also a record number of the “most breached records” with more than 133 million records exposed.
This year, the ransomware attack on Change Healthcare wreaked havoc across the industry, disrupting payments to hospitals, pharmacies, and healthcare providers for more than a week. UnitedHealth claims the attack will likely cost the company between $1.35 billion and $1.6 billion by the end of the year.
Another concerning trend identified by Metomic is the amount of payment card industry (PCI) information, such as credit card numbers and banking information, that is saved in publicly shared and external files. According to Metomic’s research, 1% of publicly shared files owned by healthcare organizations contain PCI—a number that, at first glance, seems relatively tiny, but 1% means that there are easily accessible files that contain highly vulnerable financial data.
Given the distressing number of data breaches happening across the healthcare space, it’s imperative that PCI data be heavily monitored at all times.
The full report, which also includes common file-sharing errors and DLP tactics to stop high-risk data from being exposed, can be downloaded on Metomic’s website at: “Healthcare Data Crisis – Uncovering the Alarming Gaps in Data Security and Compliance.”
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This entry was posted on July 24, 2024 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Metomic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Metomic Finds Healthcare Organizations Are at High Risk of a Data Breach with 25% of Publicly Shared Files Containing Sensitive Data
Metomic today released its “Healthcare Data Crisis – Uncovering the Alarming Gaps in Data Security and Compliance” report, offering deep insights on all the ways insecure file-sharing practices are putting healthcare organizations at risk of a data breach. Metomic revealed that 25% of publicly shared files owned by healthcare organizations contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Sixty-eight percent of private files that have been shared externally (giving access to people outside of the organization) contained PII and 77% of private files shared internally.
While publicly shared files that contain highly sensitive data pose the biggest risk for healthcare organizations and underscore the need for data security and DLP tools, many of the access permissions for private files are never updated or removed. This leads to “stale data” living in places like Google Drive where multiple people continue to have access to files they no longer need or should not be able to retrieve, creating high-risk environments that could easily lead to a data breach.
Metomic’s findings are extremely alarming considering the spiraling trend of data breaches happening across the healthcare space, a highly regulated industry that must follow strict data standards and legislative policies such as HIPAA and GDPR. According to The HIPAA Journal, the healthcare industry experienced more data breaches in 2021 than any previous year. That upward trend has continued to rise. Not only did 2023 see a record number of data breaches, but also a record number of the “most breached records” with more than 133 million records exposed.
This year, the ransomware attack on Change Healthcare wreaked havoc across the industry, disrupting payments to hospitals, pharmacies, and healthcare providers for more than a week. UnitedHealth claims the attack will likely cost the company between $1.35 billion and $1.6 billion by the end of the year.
Another concerning trend identified by Metomic is the amount of payment card industry (PCI) information, such as credit card numbers and banking information, that is saved in publicly shared and external files. According to Metomic’s research, 1% of publicly shared files owned by healthcare organizations contain PCI—a number that, at first glance, seems relatively tiny, but 1% means that there are easily accessible files that contain highly vulnerable financial data.
Given the distressing number of data breaches happening across the healthcare space, it’s imperative that PCI data be heavily monitored at all times.
The full report, which also includes common file-sharing errors and DLP tactics to stop high-risk data from being exposed, can be downloaded on Metomic’s website at: “Healthcare Data Crisis – Uncovering the Alarming Gaps in Data Security and Compliance.”
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This entry was posted on July 24, 2024 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Metomic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.