Reference no: EM133731742

Post #1 Cyntia:

A cyberattack can occur to an individual or a business. It is an attempt to breach the information system of another individual or organization. Although there are many forms of cyberattack, phishing is a type of cyber-attack that deceives individuals through deceptive text to extract sensitive information from an individual. They do this by pretending to be a trustworthy entity. They typically attempt to get this information through email, SMS, or malicious websites by providing sensitive information such as passwords, usernames, Credit card numbers, or personal data like Social Security numbers. Cybercriminals then use the data collected for deceptive purposes like financial fraud and identity theft to gain unauthorized access to the account you possess.

The most common form of phishing is through email. Recently, a hospital organization was attacked after a nurse manager received an email that they thought was coming from a trusted colleague in the IT department. The email claimed to be an update for the hospital's electronic health record (EHR) system that was due for the managers that day. It provided a link to a website where the nurse managers were asked to log in with their credentials to download the update.

In this scenario, the nurse manager is the primary victim. They received the deceptive phishing email and unknowingly provided their login credentials. On the other hand, the phisher is the cybercriminal who created the website to mirror legitimate sites, posing as another employee and a member of the hospital's IT department. Although not a direct victim, the hospital IT department is the legitimate team that was impersonated in the phishing email. Lastly, the hospital team manages hospital operations, such as security breaches.

The breach occurred when the nurse manager received an email that looked authentic, with hospital branding and the name of an actual IT department employee. The email explains the urgency of a software update to the EHR system and instructs the recipient to click a link to download the update. Obtaining the information occurred when the email appeared trusting, and the manager clicked on the link, leading to a fake but convincing login page. The compromised credentials happened when the nurse manager entered their username and password in the provided link. With the new compromised information, the phisher now gains access to the hospital's EHR system containing patient information and other sensitive or confidential information.

The impact on the organization is not to be underestimated. The phisher, armed with access to confidential patient information, including records containing medical information and home addresses, poses a significant threat. This breach can also lead to operational disruptions, as the access can result in potentially dangerous alterations of patient data, such as allergies being deleted.

In most cases, the organization must inform its patients and staff of the breach, potentially eroding trust and leading to a loss of patients and a tarnished reputation (HIPAA Journal, 2023). The organization may even suffer a financial loss due to penalties for non-compliance with healthcare regulations like HIPAA, legal costs, and the expense of mitigating the breach. Non-compliance with data protection regulations like HIPAA can result in substantial fines. In the article by Fox (2023), there are updates and changes in health IT regulations. This will impact healthcare providers and patients and the ongoing efforts to improve healthcare data interoperability and security. Therefore, as nurses and healthcare providers, we must be vigilant to protect our patient's information.

Breach scenario:

A staff member at a hospital is logged in to the healthcare organization's intranet to view emails. The staff member sees an email marked as "urgent" titled "important message from Human Resources," containing a link. The staff member quickly clicks on the link, not realizing it was spoofed with false information, and fills in personal employee credentials, allowing an outside threat access to sensitive data.

Definition:

Phishing is a cybercrime in which deceitful criminals lure in victims by posing as a trustworthy source, with the intent to steal important information. Cyber criminals identify and capitalize on human error. One of the most common threats noted comes from phishing attacks, where employees click on a threat vector, inside of an e-mail. Research supports that most data breaches occur from employees who are careless or fail to comply with security policies and procedures (Nifakos et al., 2021).

Examine how the threat could impact the organization:

Phishing attacks cause significant impacts on healthcare organizations, such as high cost, loss of time and productivity, loss of patients/clients, and loss of reputation. The average cost of a phishing attack is now $14.8 million per year for companies in the United States (U.S.), which has continued to increase by millions each year. In the U.S., organizations spend $6 million dollars per year to recover from e-mail phishing attacks (Alder, 2024).

Discuss what consequences the breach may cause:

Since the employee supplied personal credentials, a massive number of electronic health records could be compromised, jeopardizing protected patient information. There are real-life scenarios where millions of health records have been stolen after employees responded to phishing e-mails with their credentials.

Post #3 Stacey

Identify and define your assigned breach: An insider threat in cybersecurity is a risk from someone within an organization who has access to its systems, data, or networks and misuses this access to cause harm. This can include data breaches, theft of sensitive information, or damaging IT systems. There are three main types of insider threats: malicious insiders, who intentionally cause harm; negligent insiders, who accidentally cause security issues due to carelessness; and compromised insiders, whose access is taken over by outside hackers (Allen et al., 2024). Preventing insider threats involves specific access controls and monitoring, training employees, and promoting a culture of security awareness (Smith & Brown, 2022).

Describe the type of organization in which the breach occurred: In my fictional hospital, a breach occurred in the Admissions Department when Jane Doe, a trusted employee, began selling patient names and social security numbers. Jane was facing financial difficulties and was approached by an outsider offering money for patient data. She copied and sold information from patients with minimal recent activity to avoid detection. The breach went unnoticed for months until an audit revealed unusual access patterns in Jane's logs. Upon investigation, Jane confessed, leading the hospital to notify affected patients and offer credit monitoring services. Jane was prosecuted. The hospital also implemented stricter access controls and monitoring systems to prevent future incidents.

Identify who was involved: In the fictional scenario, the following individuals were involved:

Jane Doe: An Admissions Department employee who sold patient names and social security numbers.
Outsider: The person who paid Jane for the patient data and used it for fraud.
Hospital Audit Team: The team that discovered the breach through routine checks.
Affected Patients: Those whose personal information was stolen and misused.
Law Enforcement: The authorities who prosecuted Jane Doe.
Describe how the breach occurred: The breach happened when Jane Doe, an Admissions Department employee, sold patient names and social security numbers to an outsider. Jane was having financial trouble and was offered money for the data. Jane chose patients with little recent activity to avoid detection. The breach went unnoticed for months until a routine audit spotted unusual access patterns. Jane confessed, was prosecuted, and the hospital tightened its security measures.

Examine how the threat could impact the organization. Discuss what consequences the breach may cause: The insider threat posed by Jane Doe could severely impact the hospital. The patient data breach can lead to significant financial losses due to identity theft and fraud. The hospital may face legal consequences, including fines and lawsuits from affected patients (Ponemon Institute, 2023). These incidents often damage the hospital's reputation, resulting in a loss of trust from patients and the community (Confente et al., 2019). Also, the hospital would incur substantial costs to implement stricter security measures and provide credit monitoring services to those affected. Overall, this breach could result in significant financial, legal, and reputational damage to the organization.