Medical ID theft rampant

Watch your back! Medical ID theft is fast becoming a favorite cybercrimal pastime. It's been off the radar for a while, as medical ID theft data has not been collected since a 2007 report. At the time, more than 250,000 Americans a year were victims of medical identity theft. Experts say the numbers are almost certainly increasing because of the growing number of electronic medical records systems being constructed without extensive safeguards.

So, be forewarned, a hacker could get hold of your name and Social Security number and use that information for fraudulent medical charges. What does this mean for you? It means that your workers must be continually educated about cybersecurity. While your company may not work with electronic records, any employee could become a victim.

If you think the threat of electronic medical record theft is not your problem. Think again.

For more on this growing cyber threat:
- check out this New York Times article [1]

Related Articles:
FTC: ID theft surges in '08 [2]
Cybercrime is on the rise [3]
Data security's worst year yet [4]