Healthcare Data Hacking May Lead to Identity Thefts

The new study is important, said Michael Pencina, a professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics and vice dean for Data Science and Information Technology at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

“They make a good point that we need to care as much about the type of information that is hacked as the number of individuals affected,” Prof. Pencina said. “Still, whether it’s medical, demographic or financial information, that’s the stuff I don’t want in somebody else’s hands.”

As hacks become increasingly common, IT specialists debate the best way to keep data safe, Prof. Pencina said. “Is it safer to have data stored on a server locally or does it make more sense to store everything using the cloud,” he said.

While the companies offering cloud storage might be bigger targets, they also have more tools to protect against hacking, Prof. Pencina said.

Reference

Jiang JX, Bai G. Types of information compromised in breaches of protected health information. Ann Intern Med. 2019 Sep 24. [Epub ahead of print]

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