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Security experts say online health records at greater risk than financial data

EHR Connection, June 16, 2008

The launch of Google Health, a repository for PHRs, has created concern among security experts that personal medical records are now at greater risk of a breach, according to a May 20 article in SC MagazineUS.com.

A recent survey by SecureWorks, a managed security services provider, revealed that hackers attack healthcare information three times as frequently as banking and financial information, according to the article.

Healthcare data is valuable on the black market, Don Jackson, director of threat intelligence at SecureWorks, told the online magazine. Storing records online increases the risk of attack, he said.

“It's not a question of how good the security is. When you put all this information is one central location like this, a single compromise will affect a lot of data,” says Jackson. “You get Social Security numbers, mother's maiden name, home address," he says. "It's a soft target that turns out to be a treasure trove of information.”

Google responded that its software, hardware, and strict policies keep user health information safe and private, according to the article.

Readers raised concerns on Google’s own blog about Google employee access to health records, the magazine reported. Google responded that a limited number of its employees have access to any sort of confidential information and even fewer have access to what the company considers very sensitive data.

Click here to read the SC MagazineUS.com article.

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