More than 45 million medical procedures and results, including X-rays and CT scans, have been left exposed on unprotected servers.
According to a revealing report by CybelAngel There are millions of sensitive medical results, including personal health care information, available without encryption and password protection.
No username or password required
The analysts found that available medical results, including up to 200 lines of metadata per record, which include personally identifiable information such as name, date γέννησης, διεύθυνση, ύψος, βάρος, διάγνωση κ.λπ., μπορούν να τα δουν χωρίς να απαιτείται όνομα χρήστη ή κωδικός πρόσβασης. Σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις, οι πύλες connections accepted blank usernames and passwords.
"The fact that we did not use any piracy tools in our research underscores the ease with which we have been able to discover and access these files," said David Sygula, an analyst at CybelAngel.
"This is a worrying finding and demonstrates that stricter security procedures need to be put in place to protect the way in which sensitive medical data is communicated and stored by health professionals. "The balance between security and accessibility is imperative to prevent data leakage."
Todd Carroll, CISO of CybelAngel further commented, “Medical centers work with a vast, interconnected web of third-party providers, and the cloud is an essential platform to share and store data. However, security gaps present a huge risk, both to the individuals whose data has been breached and to healthcare institutions governed by regulations to protect patient data.”
“The healthcare sector has faced unprecedented challenges this year, yet the security and privacy of most personal files of their patients must be protected, to prevent confidential data from falling into the wrong hands."
Security risks for accessible results
The report emphasizes the security risks of publicly available results that contain highly personal information, such as ransomware and blackmail. This type of data earns a premium on the dark web.
In terms of compliance, healthcare providers are also subject to regulatory sanctions, such as the GDPR in Europe and the HIPAA in the US, for breaches of sensitive patient information.
