The number of criminal attacks on healthcare systems has increased a startling 100 percent since 2010, according to the Fourth Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security released by the Ponemon Institute.
According to the study, 40 percent of the healthcare organizations surveyed had criminal threats to their systems in 2013, while just 20 percent had criminal threats in 2010.
Healthcare employees are fueling the criminal breach risks through the increased use of their personal unsecured devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets while on the job, according to the study.
The study was based on the responses of 91 healthcare organizations.
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