During a recent presentation a member of the audience asked me why cyber criminals would want to steal a person’s healthcare data. It is easy to understand why they would want to steal payment card data — but healthcare data — not so obvious. Here is a great answer:
A crook would love [healthcare data] because, “in the world of black market information, a medical record is considered more valuable than everything else,” says Larry Ponemon, the Institute’s founder.
The study was sponsored by ID Experts, and its founder, Rick Kam, says that the “black market is being flooded with payment card data.” Health care data includes a Social Security number and personal health record—data that sticks around for a long time, versus a credit card number.
via Healthcare Data under Attack | Robert Siciliano.
Excellent reminder to be extra vigilant when it comes to protecting your medical data.