Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 19, 2020
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 19, 2020 - Oct 14, 2020
Date Accepted: Sep 7, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Sep 8, 2020
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Cybersecurity Risks in a Pandemic
ABSTRACT
Cybersecurity threats are estimated to cost the world 6 trillion dollars a year by 2021, and the number of attacks has increased fivefold after COVID-19. While there is substantial literature on the threats technological vulnerabilities have on the healthcare industry, less research exists on how pandemics like COVID-19 are extremely opportunistic for cybercriminals. This manuscript outlines why cyberattacks have been particularly problematic during COVID-19, and ways in which healthcare industries can better protect patient data. The Office for Civil Rights has loosened enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which, while useful in utilizing new platforms like Zoom, has also loosened physical and technical safeguards to cyberattack. This is especially problematic given that 90% of healthcare providers had already encountered data breaches. Companies must implement well defined software upgrade procedures, should use secure networks like virtual local area networks (VLAN), and conduct regular penetration tests of their systems. By understanding factors that make individuals, healthcare organizations, and employers more susceptible to cyberattack, we can better prepare for the next pandemic.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.