Discuss the human element of cybersecurity threats and the roles that humans contribute to mitigating cyber threats.

Davis (2020) ransomware attacks and range of phishing campaigns designed to give hackers a foothold onto the network. Data extortion attempts occur in half of all ransomware incidents, and hackers have started to cold call their victims to hassle them into paying demands. HIPAA compliance research was performed by the Department of Health and Human Services to find that failing to perform required risk assessments and risk management processes.

A lack of funding and staff will put small to mid-size organizations at risk as easy targets for attackers (Cyber Criminals Increase Damaging Attacks Against Healthcare Organizations, 2017). Other attacks are Man in the Middle” (MitM) and Trojans. The cyber world trends have changed. A few years ago, cyber attacks targeted credit card information and now credit card companies have tightened the reigns. Cyber attacks have focused on medical records information. The cost of medical records on the dark web is $40 per record.

Ahmed (2019) medical records contain a wealth of information for criminals. They can use records to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards, and to fraudulently bill Medicare and Medicaid. Organizations that lack a sufficient data back-up and recovery plan may not be able to restore systems quickly, and they have no choice but to pay the ransomware price.

Under HIPAA, ransomware now is a reportable breach, and healthcare providers must conduct a four-factor risk analysis to decide whether they should let Department of Health and Human Services know Cyber Criminals Increase Damaging Attacks Against Healthcare Organizations, 2017). HIPAA’s recent guidance outlines ransomware specifically because some experts claimed it was not a breach since the attackers do not take information away from the healthcare facility. From a security perspective, ransomware circumvents technical controls because someone has unknowingly opened the system’s door and let the bad guy in and inflict chaos on systems.

Davis (2020) cybercrime prevention requires a plan for how to back up data, assess a system for vulnerabilities, manage cybersecurity, and handle regulatory and legal repercussions should a breach occur. “Take a proactive approach. Monitor logs, look at vulnerabilities, and watch for trends over time. First, you need an understanding of potential vulnerabilities within your environment and the potential exploitability of those.

Cybersecurity monitoring can detect actions that indicate someone is trying to breach the system. Monitors would note that at midnight, someone tried to change the admin login or enter an admin password dozens of times (Dang et al., 2019).

References:

Dang, L., Piran, J., Han, D., Kyungbok, M. & Moon, H. (2019). A Survey on Internet of Things and Cloud Computing for Healthcare. Electronics, 8(7), 768. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.3390/electronics8070768

Ahmed, H., Nasr, A., Abdel-Mageid, S., & Aslan, H. (2019). A survey of IoT security threats and defenses. International Journal of Advanced Computer Research, 9(45), 325–350. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.19101/IJACR.2019.940088

Cyber Criminals Increase Damaging Attacks Against Healthcare Organizations. (2017). Same-Day Surgery, 41(5), 49–51.

Davis, J. (2020). Biggest Healthcare Security Threats, Ransomware Trends into 2021. HealthITSecurity. https://healthitsecurity.com/features/biggest-healthcare-security-threats-ransomware-trends-into-2021