The number of healthcare cybersecurity breaches is on the rise with tens of millions affected in larger breaches, but hackers may target even regional insurers, smaller healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individual physician’s offices. These breaches put medical facilities, insurers, and practitioners in the hot seat because they are liable for the security of the information they gather.
Over the decades, cybercrime has evolved, branching out into many strains. There are black hat hackers – (the criminally motivated). crackers, (those breaking into systems to steal information), hacktivists, (infiltrators of computer systems to use them as platforms for public movements), and script kiddies, defined by WiseGeek.com as “teenagers who use readily available tools written by experienced hackers to deface websites or break into computer systems, usually done for peer recognition and attention.”