Incidents such as the report out of Alberta Health Services in Canada and this report, below, from the UK, should serve as a reminder as to how much risk attaches to networking data and having it accessible online — either intentionally or unintentionally:
More than 8,000 computer viruses have infected NHS computers over the last year, causing problems with patient records and appointments, according to official hospital documents.
The viruses caused appointments to be rescheduled without any prior notice given to patients, the loss of test results and NHS staff to be locked out of their computers for several days.
There is also the concern that personal information could have been at risk of theft, because the viruses that infected the computers are also used by hackers to steal personal information.
Following a Freedom of Information request, it emerged more than 8,000 viruses got through security systems with 12 incidents affecting clinical departments, therefore impacting on patient care. Some seventy-five per cent of NHS trusts across the UK responded to the request.
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A number of NHS trusts admitted in official reports that their networks were attacked because anti virus systems were turned off or not properly applied.
Read more on The Telegraph.