How Doctors Can Get Hacked And How They Can Protect Themselves Against It

After the pandemic, everyone has become cautious about their health. And people now do not ignore a visit to doctors if they feel any discomfort. And this has made the medical professionals handle a lot of data about client's details and medical history. They store important information like identification details, phone numbers, medical history, treatment details, etc., which are very useful for other companies in the supply chain.

And with such a vast database of client's personal information, medical databases are a perfect target for hackers. They can use medical history to sell to third parties in the same field. Or can even manipulate the clients after knowing what treatment they are going through. Hospitals, diagnostics centers, and other such places which deal in maintaining patient's health are at major risk of cyber-crime.

And once a medical database is hacked, it will affect the client relations of the organization. Also, the data might be leaked or erased, which the hospital can never recover. The consequences of the cyber threat to a hospital are not only limited to them. The data leak may also cause an emotional loss to patients with the financial one to the organization. It is a profession of trust. And once your patients notice a data leak, the trust is affected, and the relationship too.

Let us see how doctors can get hacked and what they can do to protect themselves.

Network encryption

When doctors connect to hospital servers through an unencrypted network, there is always a risk that hackers can intercept their activity and steal the information. And the obvious consequence is the loss of important information. Also, they can track your movements. A loss of credentials grants complete access to hackers of your account. Your system must contain sensitive information and data which you cannot risk losing. The best solution to this is VPN. Doctors can encrypt their network by using a VPN download and ensure that no one can intrude on the network. Only the authorized sender and receiver will be able to communicate, therefore no one can track their online activity.

Password & 2FA

Doctors often need to login to the hospital server to track reports and the progress of treatment. If the login credentials are leaked, anyone with such details can access the system. And this can be a serious threat to patient's data. When hackers have your passwords, they become the authentic users of the system. They record all your activities under your name. To protect this, you can enable two or multifactor authentication. Along with the password, you will need a one-time password, as received on your mobile, to log in. It acts as additional security to your account. Whenever you enter your password, the system will send a unique code to your phone. It ensures even if your password is lost, no one can access your account.

Phishing and Malware

Medical professionals often receive emails from various organizations in the same field. Such emails may offer gifts, free check-ups, etc., to doctors and their families. But not all such emails are genuine. One wrong click can corrupt your system. And once the system is hacked, unwanted programs will get installed without your knowledge. Hackers send emails with a link, and once you click on it, you will grant them access to your system. You should avoid opening such emails and straight away delete them from your inbox. To protect your system against unwanted programs downloaded through suspicious links, known as malware, you should install anti-malware on your system. These programs steal all the information saved on the device without your permission. And therefore, it is essential to install anti-malware.

Conclusion

Trust is the biggest factor in the medical profession. You share all your medical problems and history with your doctor because you trust them. And hackers are a serious threat to such trust and data confidentiality. Doctors, therefore, need to be more cautious with their network security. Because hospitals have a vast medical database of client's information about their treatment and medical condition. They are the best targets for hackers and other third parties. Certain tips as mentioned above can be considered to keep the data safe.

Encrypting your network ensures that only authorized parties read and communicate over a network. Using anti-malware programs keeps your system safe and data secure, and also keeps your system secure from any recent cyber threats. Phishing is another way that causes a threat to patients' and doctor's personal information. One-click on the link can corrupt your system and make all the data unavailable. Therefore, as a medical professional you must always keep your system up to date and use genuine anti-malware software.