Kroll: Interoperability, social networking mean more security breaches

Everyone appears to be throwing in their two cents when it comes to predicting security concerns for this year, and New York-based risk consulting firm Kroll Security Services is no exception. In its forecast the top 10 threats for the year ahead, Kroll--first and foremost--believes that smaller security breaches will be getting media attention because of the new federal disclosure rules. It also predicts that low-tech security problems--i.e., criminals stealing hard drives, rather than hacking them--will rise in popularity considering such actions represent the "path of least resistance" to obtaining health data.

Other security trends predicted by Kroll for 2011 include: 

• More device (and data) loss. As laptops, smartphones and other mobile technologies become more ubiquitous on healthcare campuses, so too will simple mistakes such as laptops going missing, or a physician losing his smartphone with patient data on it. 
• Partner problems. Interoperability means health systems will have multiple points of entry and exit for potential data thieves. There also will be vulnerability as data is transferred between and among providers. 
• Social networking breaches. As more health care employees sign onto social media, the risks increase that one will expose inappropriate data, or inadvertently provide protected patient information. 

With all these new threats, you may well see a new federal breach notification law in 2011, and you'll likely see "privacy awareness training" for staff become a new must-have component for your facility security programs, Kroll officials predict. 

For more information:
- read this Kroll press release
- check out this Healthcare IT News article

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