The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft
Let’s face it: we live in a digitized world. So, no matter whether we want it or not, each one of us has some digital presence. Almost everything is done online, from entertainment to education.
And the medical sphere is no exception: be it applying for an appointment online, simply checking out a hospital’s website, or having your medical data stored in the hospital’s systems.
Telemedicine has also triggered the use of technology in medical practice. It has simplified the process of getting assistance and advice for those in need, but it also means submitting at least some of your personal information online.
Technology is increasingly being used to digitize and update medical records or communicate with patients, and that telemedicine and telecare are increasingly being used to remotely monitor and control the health of the sick.
When digitization affects the health field, cybersecurity needs to skyrocket as well. The worldwide medicine agencies may be a victim of a cyber-attack with the aim of compromising medical data, financial details, and other crucial information.
With the stolen info, criminals may build up your medical profile, thus committing medical identity theft. Having your medical identity, they may get access to hospitals, medicine, and any treatments, leaving the payment to you – as they are using your name.
They may take advantage of your patient’s history and use it to threaten you or damage your reputation.
Another example of what may happen is a cyberattack on AstraZeneca laboratories, which have participated in the development of the British vaccine.
Such attacks take advantage of current issues to destabilize society and cut people from getting proper medical treatment.
These are some examples that illustrate the importance of computer security in the world of medicine. However, its implications are much broader: from protecting the intellectual property of medicine or storing the results of a clinical trial to guaranteeing the privacy of a patient.
Personal medical data is the most sensitive information that exists, and both medical professionals, hospital centers, and health systems are required by law to guarantee its confidentiality.
However, while the latter two have more resources to protect their sensitive information, healthcare professionals often have more limited resources to safeguard the confidentiality of their patient data.
The essence of identity theft
Many people equate identity theft with fraud. Certainly, these acts are related, but there is a slight difference between the two.
Identity theft refers to the act of collecting someone’s personal information without their knowledge (generally to commit malicious acts under their identity), while fraud is a criminal activity carried out using that personal data.
These days, despicable individuals can steal personal information in a variety of ways. Some crooks still do it the good old-fashioned way of scouring the trash bins in the hope of finding valuable information that will allow them to get a credit card in your name.
With the help of technology, however, most scammers are now stealing personal data in cyberspace. Thus, scammers have refined the art of producing emails that look completely legitimate (similar in every way, or almost, to those you would receive from a financial institution or a well-known company). They know how to infiltrate your systems with malware and fool you through phishing.
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- But there are steps you can take to protect yourself.
Computer security is key to extending digitization in the field of medicine and preventing the leakage of sensitive information. Data encryption is one of the most effective measures to ensure security.
And you as a patient can apply some simple rules that will help preserve medical data security and prevent information leaks.
1. Information encryption
For a medical professional, The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft the safe storage of information is a critical task. And for this reason, they must adopt all the measures within their reach to guarantee it.
One of the most effective is data encryption. There are countless tools on the market to encrypt data, and today almost all operating systems include one natively.
– Windows. All versions of this operating system include the EFS tool and, in the latest ones, Bitlocker, which is very easy to use.
– Linux. It has an encryption tool called GnuPG.
– Apple (OSX). It has FileVault2 in all its versions.
If you want to encrypt single files, you can use a compression tool with the use of a password, such as iZIP and 7-ZIP.
2. Strong passwords
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- The use of secure passwords is a constant recommendation made by those responsible for computer security.
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- You have to remember that these passwords are usually the main obstacle that hackers have while trying to access sensitive information stored on devices and in the cloud.
Therefore, it is advisable to follow some guidelines:
– The password must be 12 alphanumeric characters.
– Different passwords should be used in the personal and professional spheres.
– The password should not include birthdays, children’s names, etc.
– It should not be shared by any digital means.
3. Anti-virus installation
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- Antiviruses are very important to prevent malware infections, that is, malicious software with which hackers access computers without their owners noticing.
Among this malware are computer viruses; worms that run and spread themselves across the network to crash computers; Trojans that allow hackers to gain access to a computer.
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- spyware is created to spy on a user and steal all the data they store, and ransomware “kidnaps” information from a computer encrypting it to obtain a financial ransom.
A good antivirus is capable of detecting and stopping all these threats to reduce the risk of information leakage.
4. Make a Backup
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- It is essential to make a backup of all sensitive data, which must also be encrypted. In addition, it is convenient to store it out of the reach of unauthorized persons and physically away from where the original information is located.
5. Erase properly
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- All the information that is stored on a computer leaves a trace that can only be permanently eliminated through secure deletion.
To do this, it is necessary to use third-party tools that can be easily found on the internet or to resort to a professional or specialized company.
6. Use a secure connection
The Dangers of Medical Identity Theft- Public Wi-Fi networks lack the necessary security to safely access the internet. To do it safely from outside the workplace or your home, you can use a virtual private network (or VPN).
In addition, never click on links embedded in emails from questionable or unknown sources.
Cross-check the identity of that person who is sending you suspicious emails. You can use Nuwber to do that.
Exercising such rigor will become increasingly important as hackers continually refine their tactics for stealing medical personal data.
Also Read