I decided to compare the United States to the United Kingdom in terms of cybersecurity risks.  On the website I linked below, I found different risks related to the United Kingdom’s healthcare system.  In Europe in general, healthcare seems to be the institution that is most at risk and vulnerable to cyber threats, and oftentimes it comes from a human error where patients’ personal information and data is given out to other people and organizations that did not have authorization to gain access to that data.  Of course, this is how all data breaches happen:  somebody who is not supposed to have access to certain information or privileges gains that access through means such as advanced attack technology, social engineering, or often a combination of both. In the United Kingdom and America alike, there is an evident lack of knowledge and training when it comes to cyber threats and how to handle them.  This means that workers who might handle sensitive data can be subject to social engineering tactics because they do not have the proper knowledge on the topic and don’t know what to look for when deciding if something is a real request or the attempt of a malicious actor. While America has had its share of cyber attacks on the healthcare system, many attacks seem to be targeted at commercial and corporate organizations instead. One of the bigger data breaches in recent memory happened within Target’s systems in late 2013/early 2014.  The attackers compromised the data of over 100 million customers that shop at Target, taking names, credit card information, and address information.  There was a large uproar and people were rightfully upset over the situation.  While Target might not be as essential of an institution as a hospital, a data breach affects people in a similar way, and usually on a larger scale due to Target’s overwhelming commercial success. 

Top 5 cybersecurity threats to the UK healthcare sector – F1TYM1