HHS cyber arm warns of EHR vulnerabilities

At the same time, said HC3, the electronic health record is "valuable to cyber attackers because of the Protected Health Information it contains and the profit they can make on the dark web or black market."   "The risks to EHRs relate primarily to a range of factors that include user-related issues, financial issues and design flaws that create barriers to using them as an effective tool to deliver healthcare services," wrote HC3 researchers. In addition, the electronic health record "is also a top target in healthcare breaches."   "Healthcare leaders should understand where operational vulnerabilities exist in their organization, from marketing all the way down to critical health records," said the agency. "This helps understand vulnerabilities in the current network landscape and provides guidance needed for [frameworks] that will be effective in identifying and preventing attacks, which is key to protecting EMRs/EHRs, along with access to vital patient data," said the threat brief.