What should you do when your personal health information are stolen?

According to reports, credit card and personal information are sold on the black market for $2 and health data is sold for up to $363, and personal health information gathered by healthcare organizations is increasingly becoming the target of cyberattacks. According to L.B.'s Director of Operations A.A., Turkey distributor of B. A. stated that medical records are very valuable and that cybercriminals can take advantage of medical conditions and use them to target people by citing their discomfort via e-mail, phone or SMS and the measures that can be taken against health data violations that are experienced all over the world and negatively affect citizens.

As the reason why the personal health information collected or created by health institutions attracts a lot of attention by cybercriminals, Infosec Institute states that while personal health history consisting of diseases, surgery information and other diseases belonging to the person cannot be changed, credit card information can be easily canceled.

What Are Hackers Doing With Citizens' Health Data?

Hackers can use stolen health data to extort people, make false insurance claims, and use the information on their own behalf to obtain medical care by gaining access to people's medical histories. Again, this data can be sold to someone else to access illegal prescriptions. People occasionally use stolen health information to get discounts on health insurance. As a result of hackers altering their health information, citizens may be subjected to high medical bills for services they did not receive for themselves or even receive the incorrect treatment. When it comes to diseases that are sensitive issues, people are more likely to fall for phishing scams and be duped by hackers. The data of health institutions should be protected at least as much as the data of companies in the financial sector, according to A.A, who claims that they are working harder to increase the cyber resilience of health institutions in particular, and that the right corporate security products should also be preferred.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Personal Health Data?

1. Suspicious links should be noted: One should be wary of spam, dubious links, and attachments purportedly from medical facilities, rehab centers, and insurance providers. Always official sites should be used for transactions.

2.  Strong passwords should be used: Use distinct, secure passwords on all of your accounts, and enable two-factor authentication.

3. Unused accounts should be deleted: Delete as many inactive and outdated accounts as you can. Your information has a greater chance of being leaked in line with the more sites that has access to it.

4. Digital identity protection should be used: You can learn what is known about you, whether you have been impacted by a breach, and what to do or how to avoid if your data is leaked by using strong digital identity protection.

5. Suspicious communication requests should not be answered: Requests to confirm private data, such as passwords and payment information, unwanted phone calls, or urgent SMS messages should not be responded to.

What Should You Do When Your Health and Other Personal Information Is Suffered from a Data Breach?

1. You should check to see which of your records have been accessed without being panicked: It is important to carefully follow any instructions provided by the institution that was affected by the data breach regarding which and how much personal information has been accessed.

2. It should be noted that each of your passwords must be unique: If you use the same password on several different accounts, a possible data breach could give hackers access to each account you use that password on.

3. You should inform your bank: If your financial information has been compromised, you should cancel your card and alert your bank to the possibility of fraud while keeping an eye out for out-of-the-ordinary transactions on your statements.

4. You should also warn your relatives: You need to make sure your friends take precautions and warn them if they plan on using the same service or application.