Millions of medical records from private medical clinics in the U.S., including dental practices, are currently unprotected, according to a ProPublica investigation and cited by Consumer Affairs.
Medical records belonging to five million patients are stored on servers without sufficient security protections, the ProPublica report released Sept. 17 found. Records include names, dates of birth, procedures and even Social Security numbers in a limited number of instances.
ProPublica reports that "anyone with basic computer expertise" could access the information, but did not find any evidence that the unprotected data had been published elsewhere.
Many offices don’t use secure virtual private networks and use simple passwords, risking patient data security, Rehan Bashir, managing security consultant at Synopsis, told SCMagazine. Mr. Bashir added that large facilities often pay for advanced IT staff, however, "smaller providers generally don’t and thus are more vulnerable to healthcare data breaches."
Recently, dental practices have been hit with cybersecurity attacks, along with other healthcare professionals. Around 400 dental offices using a free, third-party software with data were hit by a malware attack in August, exposing patient records.
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Medical records belonging to five million patients are stored on servers without sufficient security protections, the ProPublica report released Sept. 17 found. Records include names, dates of birth, procedures and even Social Security numbers in a limited number of instances.
ProPublica reports that "anyone with basic computer expertise" could access the information, but did not find any evidence that the unprotected data had been published elsewhere.
Many offices don’t use secure virtual private networks and use simple passwords, risking patient data security, Rehan Bashir, managing security consultant at Synopsis, told SCMagazine. Mr. Bashir added that large facilities often pay for advanced IT staff, however, "smaller providers generally don’t and thus are more vulnerable to healthcare data breaches."
Recently, dental practices have been hit with cybersecurity attacks, along with other healthcare professionals. Around 400 dental offices using a free, third-party software with data were hit by a malware attack in August, exposing patient records.
More articles on dental:
Dentist pleads guilty to $5M+ Medicaid fraud scheme
9 dental companies making headlines
Employee at Minnesota dental practice stole nitrous oxide, police say