Why Do Criminals Target Medical Records

Criminals are increasingly targeting medical records for identity theft and other illegal activities, as healthcare data breaches surged by 11% in 2021. High volumes of patient data and complex IT infrastructure make healthcare organizations attractive to hackers. Stolen medical data, often sold on the dark web, can be used in multiple crimes from loan fraud to blackmail. Measures suggested to increase cybersecurity include comprehensive risk analysis, robust access controls, and zero-trust architectures.