If the word “ransomware” just doesn’t make a big impression to the casual observer, maybe a number might. Every day, companies face attempts by hackers to infiltrate a computer system for some type of gain. Maybe it’s a credit card number, a person’s identity—or in Baptist’s case—health care data.
Ignoring or even just glossing over the risks is no longer an option. In one month, Baptist had 177,952 hacker attempts on the organization’s system. Every moment, security experts and teams within Baptist Technology Services watch for suspicious activity like unusual emails.
“This is concerning for all of us. It’s not a matter of if, but when this could happen to Baptist,” said Beverly Jordan, vice president/chief information and transformation officer for Baptist.
To put the issue in greater context, a recent attack publicized this month hit Banner Health, a system largely located in the West and Alaska, as detailed in this article.
Reuters reported in 2014 that health care data is now 10 times more valuable on the black market than credit card data. But why health care data? Consider the information contained in a patient’s medical record – demographic information, Social Security number, place of employment, maybe even occupation, insurance carrier and plan identifiers, emergency contacts and relationships to patient. All of this information can be used in multiple ways to allow another person to commit different types of fraud by pretending to be the patient. Although banks and financial institutions have created more sophisticated security systems over the years, the health care industry has continued to lag behind—creating a huge vulnerability and opportunity all at once.
“Read, learn, and internalize what’s happening. That email you receive on your desktop may not be what it appears,” says Jordan. Besides strange characters and awkward language, sometimes emails contain offers or promises. “Usually, if something sounds too good to be true, it is,” added Jordan.
While the hands of a clock tick the Baptist day away, another invisible counter is steadily outpacing even the second hand on that clock. And it’s hackers. While invisible, it’s real.
Security experts at Baptist and senior leadership work closely together to ensure Baptist systems remain protected. Future articles will reveal just how their work keeps Baptist safe.
If you have any suspicions regarding an email, forward the suspicious email to virusinfo@bmhcc.org. Avoid opening any attachments or links, and do not respond to the sender.