Cyber Criminals Target Biotech, Health Care
Health care and biotech companies are increasingly seeing attacks by cyber criminals, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Those criminals are looking for the trove of valuable details the companies hold — stock information, research secrets and even patients’ personal data, industry experts said.
At the same time, the health and life-science sectors are underprepared for the assault from such sophisticated thieves. Well-planned “phishing” attacks and confidence tricks fool executives, scientists and hospital workers, who are often pressured to put productivity ahead of good online security practices, the Union-Tribune reports.
“Health care, a sector that accounts for one-sixth of the nation’s economy, makes an obvious target for fraud. The industry is increasingly exposed to hacking as records traditionally kept on paper are computerized. And the trend is likely to grow because the federal government is funding the adoption of electronic health records nationwide,” the newspaper says.
