For ten days in the month of February one hospital's records hung in limbo. At Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California, a ransomware attack kept health care records in control of anonymous hackers, until hospital officers paid $17,000 to take back their system.
Data ransom attacks are today's technological version of kidnapping. It's anonymous, more cost-effective and more attractive to criminal enterprises than taking physical hostages. And it is the reason health care institutions today are taking measures to ensure security.
As part of an ongoing conversation, health care experts and government agencies will meet on May 1-11 in Washington D.C. to discuss health data as part of the Health Datapalooza event presented by Health Data Consortium.
At Creighton University, law professor Edward Morse is researching the technological and legal limitations for paying data ransom.
"If you can refuse access to patient care records, you shut down hospital operations," Morse stated. "With HIPAA, a patient's electronic records are secured under law. But, a patient's medical information is only as strong as an institution's weakest link.
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