I think that we have to come to terms with the notion that privacy is a thing of the past, and that it is not a question of if, but a question of when, any particular system may be hacked. As in the case of the Heartbleed exploit, a back door may be propped open for years before anyone notices, and some exploits may leave no fingerprints.
Speaking of Heartbleed, it now appears that CHS may not have done a thorough job of applying the relevant patches. See: FBI warns healthcare firms they are targeted by hackers | Reuters (the original FBI warning is linked to in the Heartbleed post linked to above.)
What is to be done?
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- We need to stop using the social security number in medical records and insurance records because, linked with other medical record data, it enables identity theft.
- We need to do a better job with authentication of users of systems, so that it becomes harder to use stolen identities to set up new accounts or exploit existing ones.
- We need to do a better job of enforcing anti-discrimination laws, because then the release of certain private information will no longer be so devastating.
- We need to be honest with ourselves about the limits of privacy and security in the connected world we’ve built, because otherwise we will all continue to live with unrealistic expectations.
- We need to have better systems in place to deal with breaches when — not if — they happen, because we aren’t likely to accomplish the first four jobs on this list anytime soon.
What do you think?