First few Article Sentences
As use of electronic health care records (EHRs) has become increasingly standard, the health care industry is finding itself under siege from cybercrime attacks. Three of the six largest data breaches in 2011 transpired in the health care industry. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, in 2013, almost half of the identify theft breaches it identified were in the health care industry.
These thefts can have dire implications—a health care data breach substantially increases the risk of data-related fraud. And the value of stolen EHR data is significantly greater than that of a credit card or bank account number, because it can plague a victim for a lifetime, with hackers often using the information in multiple capacities to commit fraud or identity theft. Thousands of recent accounts of unauthorized disclosures of protected health information attest to this fact. Despite the recent Target data breach, financial services and retail operations have been more vigilant about preventing and responding to these threats than have health care industry employers.