In my last two posts, I identified how easy it can be for a hacker to access a users cloud account and take valuable data like sensitive images. On a larger scale, companies and hospitals storing healthcare records should be aware of the issues arising when using cloud based platforms.
Cyber attacks on Healthcare
Surprisingly, hospital records can have a higher value than stealing bank details. This is because unlike bank details you can always store someones healthcare records that contains their personal identities, medical history, home address and social security number. Whereas, with bank details, as someone realizes they’ve been breached the password will change and the data will be useless. Healthcare records that are stolen can be sold for a premium on the black market. Research has said that one in thirteen US patients will have their data compromised in the next 5 years due to cyber hacking.
Digital record keeping is a risk for hospital, this is because at any point someone can hack their system at great speed and take personal data without anybody knowing. Many people have questioned whether it may be safer to store data on a cloud service as they have many security systems. Also, the benefits of using a cloud based software can mean creating significant savings. This said, it is clear that the cloud can never be a reliable place to store data securely.
How the Cloud can affect Businesses
In a report by Netskope, it found that 15 percent of logins for business apps had been hacked. Businesses must be very careful when choosing a cloud platform to use for storing data on, especially private and sensitive information. In the report they also discovered that a quarter of all files used had one or more person outside of the organisation linked to the shared content and almost 12 percent had over access to 100 or more files. Small businesses must also be aware of taking enough security procedures as some of the biggest hacks on Sony and Ebay were done through third party suppliers.
These are just a few disadvantages that a company can face from storing their data online:
- Cyber attacks (storing data online always has the risk of hackers getting into their system)
- Insider threats (employees having access to copy the cloud data of customer or confidential data)
- Someone else is looking after your data (no company will be as rabid about storing your data as you will be)
- Lack of support (some cloud companies do not have customer support to contact if there is an emergency to do with your data)
Most companies use the cloud for its benefits of being able to store large files, convenient communication to team member, it doesn’t depend on location and it saves money in having to hire a IT team to manage the data.
How to stay protected
There are numerous ways for businesses and hospitals to stay safe when using the cloud. A risk that can cause bad implications for a business is if their employees use their own devices at work. This is because they can catch software’s that find their way in to the corporate network. To avoid this a company would be advised to have the employees install a mobile management software that protects the device.
If businesses and hospitals clarified to their employees how important it is to take care when using the cloud, they
will become more aware of suspicious behavior. For example, a user awareness training would be beneficial covering basic procedures, for example when data can and cannot be taken out of the workplace and how to identify emails that look suspicious. Also, as I have said before in my other posts, enabling a two step access on your account means that even if a hacker has your password they wont be able to get into the account without more security information.
Both businesses and hospitals must be wary when using a cloud based software, especially as in recent years there have been massive hacks on big companies leaking valuable data. To avoid issues on the cloud there must be a high level of security procedures and a good understanding of how the chosen cloud platform works.
Leave a Reply