Hospitals and the healthcare community as a whole have become the most common and lucrative target for cyber-attack. Many breaches are targeted and sophisticated while others are surprisingly random and simple. The Internet of Things has increased the attack surface with a host of new vulnerabilities and an alarming number of organizations lack even the most basic cybersecurity hygiene, yet everyone is surprised when there is a breach and sensitive information is exfiltrated. Bad actors come in all forms with a multitude of methods, motivations and exploits but virtually all of them start with a phishing attack. All it takes is one click on a malicious link and an entire organization can be infected. The initial goal of a hacker is to obtain legitimate admin credentials then move laterally throughout a network escalating the level of privileges for access. Exfiltration of sensitive information and injecting falsified content are easy with the right access. Strangely, the health sector as a whole offers virtually zero training on social engineering or even basic standards for a cybersecurity-centric organizational culture. Continuous education on the latest exploits and techniques used by hackers is a mandatory prerequisite to initiating an environment conducive to security. Regularly patching vulnerabilities in applications used industry wide are crucial as vulnerabilities lead to exploit kits designed to infiltrate and corrupt distracted organizations. The most organized risks to the health sector in the United States come from State Sponsored and Hacker for Hire groups, primarily out of China. Platforms such as Elderwood offer a plethora of new Zero Days to organizations such as Deep Panda, Axiom and Hidden Lynx etc. whose sole purpose is to breach networks, exfiltrate data and corrupt critical infrastructure networks. The intention of this series is to introduce the basics in both Healthcare Informatics and Cybersecurity as a proper comprehension of both is the first step to a more secure environment. Cybersecurity should be part of the curriculum for students studying healthcare informatics and healthcare as a whole but sadly Academia has yet to catch up with the fast paced initiatives of hackers. True patient health record privacy and network security can only be realized if hospitals and the health sector take an aggressive and blatant approach to a cybersecurity-centric culture with continuous attention to proper cybersecurity hygiene.

"Cybersecurity-centric components must be included in the curriculum of anyone studying health IT, HIPAA and healthcare informatics as these are the first victims that will be under cyber-attack in any organization in which they are employed. This book series merges the crucial topics of healthcare IT, health informatics and cybersecurity in order to expedite the reader's path to proper cybersecurity hygiene which is intended to enhance their work place cybersecurity culture. The reader will find that traditionally intimidating technical concepts have been authored in an easy to understand manner" --from Amazon.com.

With the hospital and health sectors attack surface wide open it's surprising that more isn't being done to educate staff on proper cybersecurity hygiene. The attack surface is compounded by the exponential expansion of the IoT and lack of up to date BYOD protocols. HIPAA and patient record privacy are a moot point when unpatched vulnerabilities in applications are exploited by bad actors. The healthcare industry as a whole needs to move toward a more cybersecurity-centric culture as the physical and cyber environments continue to merge. The point of this easy to intellectually digest book series is to introduce basic cybersecurity with nursing informatics, hospital information technology, HIPAA compliance and health IT. When health sector staff can more easily identify spear phishing, spoofed browsers and other malicious enticements by hackers, each organization will be less prone to breaches. Bad actors are becoming more targeted, stealthy and creative with their exploit kits and zero days. Ransomware, RATs, Droppers and drive-by downloads are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the adversaries attack arsenal for invading the healthcare division of our Nation's critical infrastructure. The reader is encouraged to make all five volumes of this book series part of their professional library to enhance their ongoing professional development. This series shows how to be vigilant about cybersecurity without being Orwellian while brushing up or being introduced to health IT and healthcare informatics.

Through the rise of big data and the internet of things, terrorist organizations have been freed from geographic and logistical confines and now have more power than ever before to strike the average citizen directly at home. This, coupled with the inherently asymmetrical nature of cyberwarfare, which grants great advantage to the attacker, has created an unprecedented national security risk that both governments and their citizens are woefully ill-prepared to face. Examining cyber warfare and terrorism through a critical and academic perspective can lead to a better understanding of its foundations and implications. Cyber Warfare and Terrorism: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is an essential reference for the latest research on the utilization of online tools by terrorist organizations to communicate with and recruit potential extremists and examines effective countermeasures employed by law enforcement agencies to defend against such threats. Highlighting a range of topics such as cyber threats, digital intelligence, and counterterrorism, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for law enforcement, government officials, lawmakers, security analysts, IT specialists, software developers, intelligence and security practitioners, students, educators, and researchers.

This book pinpoints current and impending threats to the healthcare industry's data security.

Cybersecurity for medical devices is no longer optional. We must not allow sensationalism or headlines to drive the discussion… Nevertheless, we must proceed with urgency. In the end, this is about preventing patient harm and preserving patient trust. A comprehensive guide to medical device secure lifecycle management, this is a book for engineers, managers, and regulatory specialists. Readers gain insight into the security aspects of every phase of the product lifecycle, including concept, design, implementation, supply chain, manufacturing, postmarket surveillance, maintenance, updates, and end of life. Learn how to mitigate or completely avoid common cybersecurity vulnerabilities introduced during development and production. Grow your awareness of cybersecurity development topics ranging from high-level concepts to practical solutions and tools. Get insight into emerging regulatory and customer expectations. Uncover how to minimize schedule impacts and accelerate time-to-market while still accomplishing the main goal: reducing patient and business exposure to cybersecurity risks. Medical Device Cybersecurity for Engineers and Manufacturers is designed to help all stakeholders lead the charge to a better medical device security posture and improve the resilience of our medical device ecosystem.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Health - Public Health, grade: 1, Northeastern University of Boston, language: English, abstract: Data breaches in U.S. healthcare have become ubiquitous with modern hackers honing in on healthcare data due to its lucrative economic value. Cyber crooks regard medical identity theft as ‘The triple crown of stolen data’ as it’s worth more than a Social Security Number or credit card number in the internet black market. The black market rate for each partial EHR is $50 as compared to $1 for a stolen Social Security Number or credit card number. With 44% of data breaches that healthcare organizations contribute to, this report analyzes for the evolving security measures and trends in the healthcare industry to protect data from cyber crooks. An infographic study was carried out to explore the ways by which data is lost, states accounting the most and least number of medical data breaches, and the location of breached information. Outcome of this infographics study is expected to pave the way for possibility of future research and scholarly debate. Potential of cloud computing in healthcare has been taken into account and was analyzed for its benefits of adoption and use, obstacles, and its forecast in the near future. At the outset, this report is a snapshot of U.S. healthcare’s defensive preparation and strategy against the level of cyber-attacks that will be coming at them, statistical analysis on types of breach impacting healthcare organizations the most, state-wise percentage analysis of medical data breach, and cloud computing as a defensive solution to protect the data from cyber-attacks, and insider threat - disgruntled employees and patient-record snoopers.