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NHS Healthcare systems most vulnerable to data protection breaches caused by hackers

A recent study concluded that, in January, almost 40% of data protection breaches in a particular healthcare sector were caused by hacking.

Although the figures are from one study, and the results are relevant for the area of the study, the risk of NHS Trusts, doctors and hospitals falling victim to a hack is a serious and ongoing concern.

The 2017 “WannaCry” cyber-hack that specifically targeted older and more outdated systems hit the NHS hard. In fact, the UK faced a practical crisis in the immediate fallout of the hack.
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NHS staff accessing neighbour’s medical records is NOT okay

There is a recent worrying trend of NHS staff being caught out snooping on people they know, or are related to, by abusing their powers to access their medical records.

Let’s be absolutely clear: it is NOT okay for any member of the NHS to access their neighbour’s medical records without good reason or due authorisation.

If you are informed that a member of the NHS staff has accessed your medical records in such a way, or if you discover it has happened, you may be entitled to claim for data protection breach compensation.
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NHS health board left “devastated and disappointed” after another employee data protection breach

In what Hywel Dda University Health Board admitted to be the second data protection breach they have faced of this nature, yet another NHS worker has been caught accessing confidential medical records without a valid reason.

Instances of NHS workers accessing medical records when they have no reason or right to access them is a common problem at the moment. Most of the time, staff committing the breaches are accessing records for people they know out of nothing more than curiosity.
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NHS outsourcing and the dangers of data breaches

The NHS budget is a hotly-debated topic. Cuts, cuts and more cuts have led to some services being squeezed beyond measure, and the obvious truth is that cost-cutting can directly lead to increased chances of mistakes.

Last year, one huge case of cost-cutting seemingly led to a monumental data breach scenario and millions of pounds being paid to pick up the pieces. In 2017 it was revealed that more than 500,000 pieces of patient information in the five year period between 2011 and 2016 had been lost as a result of outsourcing. Such sensitive data being lost is a huge issue.
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NHS remote and automated systems: What are the concerns?

In the past few years, the National Health Service (NHS) has made attempts to expand and ease the pressure on its extremely busy and hectic services with use of new technology. This included setting up an entire NHS internal email system that allows staff to send ‘secure’ emails to each other to share ‘sensitive information’.

An electronic prescription service is also available that allows GPs to send a prescription directly to a pharmacy.

But in the increasingly interconnected digital world, what are the concerns over using such technology? Should we be worried?
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NHS data breaches and NHS data breach compensation

The National Health Service (NHS): the provider of the nation’s healthcare that we put our trust and confidence in to look after us and care for our bodies and minds. In that trust, we usually give them unlimited access to our medical records.

Within those medical records, the NHS know all about our bumps, scrapes, embarrassing ailments and our most guarded mental health issues. They are a target for hackers and are leading the leagues when it comes to the highest number of breaches, which is very worrying. A lot of it is down to inadequate systems and procedures, but for the victims, it can become a life-changing event.
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Will fingerprint systems prevent data thefts in the healthcare industry?

In the digital era, the safety of data has been a huge concern for many industries. The healthcare industry has always been a prime target for cyberattackers, and it’s one of the industries that suffers the highest number of breaches.

There’s no surprise as to why this is the case. Medical records are seen as a treasure trove because they usually contain a wealth of personal information – enough information gathered for someone to seriously blackmail a victim, or perhaps even commit identity fraud.

Medical information is sensitive – so will new tech save us from future scandals?
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