(KMOX) — The shift to electronic medical records is making your personal information more vulnerable to a data breach.
In late August, some 400 dental offices in the state of Wisconsin were hit by ransomware.
Alex Zlatin, CEO of Maxim Software Systems tells KMOX News the attack was launched through the IT company providing data back-up for those offices. "They had been using some free, third-party software that unfortunately was vulnerable, and that created the cascading effect that basically encrypted the data for over 400 clinics."
Zlatin says many health clinics rely on third-party vendors for their networking and data storage. He says consumers should ask questions about where their medical information is stored. As for medical offices, he says they need to ensure employees have cybersecurity training, that they have a reliable backup system tested to ensure data can be restored, and that they have cyber insurance.