The Darkweb has trends, just like the conventional web does. In years past, the hottest data for sale on the black market was credit card info, but that is changing. According to the latest Trend Micro survey, the new hot property is…. Medical records. Trend’s survey indicates that North American hospitals are more exposed to digital threats than anywhere else on the planet.
Canada is the overall winner, with fully 53% of their hospitals exposed, but the US still has an astounding 36% of their facilities exposed. The company found more than a thousand expired SSL certificates in the US alone, which is the digital equivalent of a large neon sign to a hacker.
Just how lucrative is the market for medical data on the Darkweb? As an example, a complete hospital database can sell for as much as half a million dollars.
What makes medical data so enticing for hackers is the width and breath of what it contains. The hackers can get dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, billing and banking information, insurance information and a plethora of other financial details.
Basically, anyone armed with the information contained in a medical database would be able to digitally reconstruct your life and steal your identity. Worse, many of these pieces of data are unique to you and can’t be changed or reset if stolen.
If you work with patient health information (PHI), be warned. The hackers are coming, and they’re coming for whatever amount of data you’ve got. Don’t be lulled into thinking that your patient database isn’t large enough to warrant a thief’s attention. To them, you’re just an easier target.