Where will it end? It seems that incidents of medical records breaches are still on the rise, with no end in sight.

Whether it’s from stolen laptops, rogue wi-fi hotspots, employee snooping, or determined hackers, data breaches and losses are skyrocketing. The problem is so acute, that even organizations that track data breaches are amazed at the scope of the data breach problem.

Medical Records Have Financial Value to Criminals

Why is this happening in such a big way? The answer is money. Medical records, and other comprehensive personal records like mortgage applications, have financial value to criminals. Criminals buy and sell people’s personal records on underground websites and channels because those records are used to create false identities and commit fraud.

The attractiveness of medical records to criminals is one of the main reasons why the HIPAA regulations require such strong protections for PHI. Covered Entities think their records are just paper. But to criminals, medical records are gold.

Foreign crime syndicates see the potential payoff from I.D. theft. And even common street gangs are, in some cases, turning away from drugs and prostitution and moving into I.D. theft.

HIPAA Requirements are Only a Starting Point

Remember, HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rule requirements are only a minimum “floor” of protection that every entity should have in place no matter what. It also takes effective training, awareness of how criminals work, and due diligence to prevent data breaches. And you can be sure of one thing: prevention is easier and much, much cheaper than dealing with a data breach. Be careful!

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