While much of healthcare is focused on minimizing the number of vulnerable individuals who get sick, there are data related issues that need to be considered as well. According to the 2020 Unisys Security Index, the U.S. population are more concerned about the country’s health infrastructure than being scammed during the health crisis, especially compared to the rest of the world.
According to the survey outcomes, Unisys Chief Information Security Officer Mat Newfield says: “The COVID-19 health crisis has, not surprisingly, caused people’s level of concern for their personal safety to jump. However, the fact that it is not only matched by, but exceeded by, a drop in concerns around hacking, scamming or online fraud shows that people are taking their eyes off the ball, so to speak, when it comes to protecting themselves from a potentially costly breach or identity theft.”
He adds that: “Hackers have ramped up their attacks, using COVID-19 as a cover to trick people into clicking on malicious links by posing as a resource for stimulus payments, or to try to solicit donations or trick users into downloading malware. Now, more than ever, consumers must be vigilant about the risk of cyberattacks.”
While this addresses the security concerns, there are data privacy issues that need to be considered too. To gain an insight into health related data issues, Digital Journal sought the opinion of Rich Waldron, CEO and co-founder of low-code automation company Tray.io.
COVID-19 sparks an explosion of big personal health data
Due to coronavirus testing, quarantine programs, and contact tracing efforts, organizations are actively collecting more personal health data than ever before. What’s more, organizations might not have the appropriate infrastructure and processes to support that data, and ensure it remains private and in compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. In 2021, we expect CIOs to place a larger emphasis on data privacy, with greater consideration for the new types of sensitive data they collect. CIOs will feel growing pressure to adopt technology that allows organizations to not only take full control of mission-critical data, but also enables that data to flow freely and securely while protecting employee and hiring candidate privacy.
