October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Emerald Coast Medical Association offers Cyber Liability Insurance to our dedicated members. We are using the month of October to make our members aware of cybersecurity and the aftermath of cybersecurity attacks.

Medical device cybersecurity is a major concern for health IT executives. Vulnerabilities within devices can often be linked to the manufacturer. A recent survey showed that each provider organization has around 1,000 connected medical devices. Of these 1,000 devices, one-third are deemed unpatchable. Devices that are not secured put patients at risk of great harm if those devices are hacked. Because it is becoming more common for devices to be connected, it is much easier for a hacker to access patients information and the risk for it continues to grow.

There has been confusion surrounding FDA policies. Recent respondents have said that medical device manufacturers use FDA policies as an excuse to not patch equipment. They use the myth that security updates require 510(k) clearance, which is simply not true. The FDA has said that they plan to take measures to help prevent cybersecurity attacks.

If a hacker accesses a patient’s information, it can lead to HIPAA violations, lawsuits, and, in some cases, having to pay a ransom to gain access back. In just the last two years, the average cost of dealing with a data breach was $2.4 million. In addition to that, the healthcare industry alone suffers 51 percent of all data breaches. These statistics are alarming as protecting patients information is so important. We created cyber insurance as a result of the expansion of liabilities against companies for violation of private information, and protection for digital assets.

You may have preventative measures such as firewalls, virus protection, or procedures to protect passwords, but these measures are not guaranteed to stop hackers. Many hackers use technology that is undetectable, making it difficult to keep up with trying to stop them. Our Cyber Liability Insurance keeps you protected.

If you would like to know more about our Cyber Liability Insurance, click below.

At Emerald Coast Medical Association our members are our top priority. Data breaches have become very common, putting patients at risk for their information to be accessed by hackers. We offer Cyber Liability Insurance to our members to help save them from the issues that can arise from data breaches.

It is recommended that IT staff closely monitor and identify all remote access points, and also that only trusted individuals have access to the systems. It is also essential to have a strong password policy as an added protector. Emerald Coast Medical Association is taking these recommendations a step further with our Cyber Liability Insurance.

The healthcare industry suffers from 51 percent of all data breaches. This statistic is reason enough to consider signing up for our cyber liability insurance. Attackers can copy or alter yours and your practices private information. They can also use this against you by demanding a ransom in order to for you to gain access again. These attacks can be dire not only for your practice but also for your patients.

Once an attacker gains access to a system, they can move to other connected devices or systems, stealing data and rendering the systems unusable. They can also hijack computer resources to generate cryptocurrency. Most hijacks also happen in practices with less than 100 employees, which we know is the case for many of our members.

There have been instances where thousands of patients medical records were posted online for all of the world to be able to access. The ensuing outcome was a lawsuit filed for $10 million. Another incident was when a woman bought a used computer from a pharmacy. The computer had not been wiped clean, and she gained access to thousands of patients prescription information, including their names, addresses, and social security numbers. It cost $110,000 alone just to notify the affected parties, not taking the two lawsuits filed into account.

With cyber security threats continuing to top the list of top IT hazards facing providers, we cannot help but to stress the importance of having cyber liability insurance. We care about our members and want to do everything we can to keep them worry-free. We are happy to say that our members can rest easy knowing that they are safe with us and can focus their attention on the reason for the job, the patients.

If you would like to know more about our Cyber Liability Insurance, please click the link below.