Can Healthcare Industry Win Hi-Tech Battle Against HIPAA?

Experts predict massive uncontrolled infection of computer systems will result in fines, penalties, and lawsuits for the health care field due to failure to meet HIPAA standards.

There could hardly be a more analogous situation for the health care industry. Throughout human history, medicine has battled again and again against massive epidemics that lacked the technology necessary to stop them. The Black Plague, smallpox, and most recently HIV were all able to wreak havoc on mankind because there was no means of detecting the problem until it was too late.

Now, the health field confronts a similar problem with respect to their computer networks. Although it is only now seeping into the public consciousness, for years now there has been a ‘silent epidemic’ raging in the world of the Internet. The attack is massive, and if it were measured in human terms the results would be nothing short of catastrophic.

So what is this ‘Silent Epidemic’ that is so potentially devastating to the health care industry? It has to do with the creation of a whole new breed of Internet invaders purposely designed to slip past and infect ‘protected’ computer networks and silently reside on systems recording confidential information and stealing data and money.

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‘What many people don’t realize is that today’s Internet invaders are totally silent,’ says Ryan Sherstobitoff, Internet security expert for Panda Software. ‘This new breed of invaders have the capability of sneaking by whatever antivirus or security software people have on their computers, and then residing on the system, totally hidden, totally undetected.’

Recent headlines attest to the fact that cyber-criminals are winning when it comes to breaking into computer systems. Late last year it was discovered that 800,000 identities had been stolen from a well known university. And just a few weeks ago, it was revealed that a major retail chain was broken into and had the credit card information of some 45 million cards stolen.

‘I can’t emphasize enough that the companies that are making the headlines had what they thought was the best possible protection against Internet attacks,’ warns Sherstobitoff. ‘Despite the enormous amounts of money being spent for ‘protection’, like the emperor’s new clothes, the headlines make it painfully obvious that something isn’t working right.’

In other words, in medical terms, it would be a lot like using a vaccine that isn’t working. Despite immunizing everyone with ‘the best medical solution’, the population still gets sick and dies.

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In fact, it is this very complacently about supposedly being protected that the cyber-criminals play upon to attack us.

‘You really can’t blame consumers,’ Sherstobitoff says with a sigh, ‘it’s a highly technical area. It’s just like going to the doctor–when they give us a shot, we believe what they say and feel we are protected. We feel safe and immune. It can be a real shockdisbelief evento find out otherwise.’

As hard as this epidemic is hitting business and corporations, the health care industry is at particular risk because of potential HIPAA violations that will result as a consequence of being infected.

The HIPAA regulations state that patient information must be safe and secure and that the confidentiality of those in the system must be maintained. It is, of course, impossible to be in compliance with HIPAA if the computer network is infected with secret Internet invaders that are busily stealing patient information.

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The upshot is that there is no way for the health care industry to know whether or not they have been infected if they are not using the right technology to detect and eradicate the invaders.

‘The health care industry is at the mercy of their security software,’ says Sherstobitoff. ‘It’s a lot like not having the correct diagnostic tool to fine an illness or disease. You can do whatever you want, but if the software can’t detect it, it can’t detect it.’

So, what can the health care industry do about this? Just as in medicine, the first step is proper diagnosis.

‘We have developed a scanning technology that can and will detect these super-secret invaders,’ explains Sherstobitoff. ‘It’s free, and people can go to the site and check out their computer for themselves. We feel strongly that it is one of the best diagnostic tools available to find out whether or not you are infected with something.’

The site for those who might be interested is www.infectedornot.com.

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The bottom line is that most health care professionals are interested in devoting time to their area of specialization. Dealing with rules, regulations, and computer issues is not a favorite activity for many of them. Additionally, it is known that cyber-criminals consider health care to be a ‘soft target’ where computer defenses may not be as strong as in other industries.

Just like preventative medicine, dealing with security and computer protection can be a real pain. And yet, to not take action, and to be potentially in violation of regulations like HIPAA carry serious consequences–not the least of which are fines, penalties, and potential lawsuits from patient’s whose information has been stolen.

‘Unfortunately the situation is probably going to get worse before it gets better,’ predicts Sherstobitoff. ‘You can bet that right now, as we speak, patient information is being stolen from doctor’s offices, hospitals, ane insurance companies. It will probably take a high-profile health care break-in to bring the point home.’