Healthcare data breach spikes in recent years

Healthcare data breach spikes in recent years have been triggered by the increasing digitisation of society, and as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, whilst efficiency can be achieved through moving how we work and how we operate into digital infrastructure, the risks can be substantial. Any defence when it comes to information is only as good as its weakest link, and we saw cybercriminals exploiting vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic where healthcare industry staff were under substantial amounts of pressure in managing the virus.

Whilst we can see the reasoning as to how these spikes occur, the importance of data protection cannot be understated. When it comes to the impact on the victims, we are here as Specialist Data Breach Lawyers to help people.

Concerns over healthcare data breach spikes

There have been a lot of concerns in recent years in respect of healthcare data breach spikes, many of which had been triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic. There had been concerns of increasing incidents in any event given the continuing digitisation of society, with much more personal information now accessible and transferable by electronic means. Whilst being able to manage medical records digitally has proven effective in the healthcare industry, the subsequent healthcare data breach spikes that accompany this fact are an undeniable concern.

Unfortunately, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, we saw a time where cybercriminals looked to exploit the increasing pressures on the healthcare industry. Even the pressures alone when taking out the factor of cybercriminals was undoubtedly a cause of leaks and accidents given how stressed and overworked people have been. Whilst such events can understandably cause these issues, we must focus our concerns on the impact of data breaches on the victims. This must always be a key focus.

The importance of data protection – NHS WannaCry data breach 2017

When it comes to healthcare data breach spikes, we can see stark rises that follow significant events causing widespread damage stemming from cyberattacks. The NHS WannaCry data breach of 2017 was a case in point, where the impact off healthcare infrastructure being affected caused considerable problems for a number of NHS Trusts and a significant number of patients.

The WannaCry incident saw medical professionals being unable to access key medical information and systems, and it is easy to see how this can be dangerous to patients. As such, the importance of data protection simply cannot be understated in this particularly vulnerable industry, where the impact of the breach could be the difference between life and death.

Victims claiming data breach compensation

Victims of a healthcare data breach could be entitled to claim privacy compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis.

The GDPR can entitle the victim of a data breach to recover damages for any distress caused by the loss of control of personal information. Given that medical information is some of the most personal and sensitive that there can be, the distress in a case like this can be substantial. This is recognised when we pursue a claim, and it is why many of the people that we represent are involved in cases where medical information has been misused or exposed.

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