Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente began issuing notices Sept. 27 to 990 Sacramento-area patients that their information may have been exposed, according to local news station ABC10.

In healthcare, it's not a question of whether criminals will try to steal revenue cycle data, but when: This year alone, approximately one-third of healthcare providers have had payments data stolen, up from 25 percent in 2018, according to Mahala…

Although hospitals and health system are no more likely to be hit by a ransomware attack than any other business, they can be more severe because of the information they hold, according to Bankinfosecurity.com.

Goshen (Ind.) Health began notifying 9,160 patients on Sept. 30 of a security incident that may have exposed their personal health information, according to The Elkhart Truth.

The FDA has been cautioning patients, providers, IT staff and manufacturers of various vulnerabilities that if exploited could allow a hacker to remotely take control of a medical device.

All three Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System hospitals are temporarily closed to new patients due to a targeted Oct. 1 ransomware attack.

Numerous privacy incidents at hospitals, IT suppliers and other healthcare organizations captured public attention last month.

Though the rise in cybersecurity incidents has created an increased push for hospitals to be more vigilant, clinicians and executives continue to fall into cybersecurity traps.

Wood Ranch Medical announced Sept. 18 that it will close in December after a ransomware attack caused the Simi Valley, Calif.-based medical clinic to lose all access to its patients' medical records.

Omaha, Neb.-based CHI Health Lakeside Hospital announced Sept. 27 it was hit by a ransomware attack that may have exposed patients' protected health information, according to the Omaha World-Herald.