'Cyber underworld' turns attention to lucrative health data

Neil Versel | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

The "newest frontier" in the dark "cyber underworld" is health data, according to a report from NPR's "Morning Edition," and it's a lucrative business for criminals, as the recent Anthem data hack illustrated all too well to the healthcare industry. In the NPR story, Greg Virgin, CEO of the security firm RedJack walked the reporter through a Yelp-like rating system for illicit transactions to find a highly regarded dealer selling a "value pack" of 10 Medicare ID numbers for 22 bitcoin, or about $4,700.

Another interviewee, Orion Hindawi of network monitoring company Tanium, said he was not surprised to hear about the Anthem incident, and predicted that there will be more cyber attacks against healthcare organizations in the future.

The Black Market For Stolen Health Care Data

Neil Versel

Neil Versel joined TriMed in 2015 as the digital editor of Clinical Innovation + Technology, after 11 years as a freelancer specializing in health IT, healthcare quality, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.

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