DATA SECURITY


Ensuring that messaging is safe and secure


Used for the wrong purposes, or in a non-secure manner, use of social media and instant messaging can leave healthcare provider organisations at considerable risk of data breach or 'hacking'. A look at some of the key steps to take to ensure safe, reliable, and robust communications and not leave data networks and systems vulnerable.


Social media is the modern medicine for wagging tongues and communal chat. It is the panacea for a digitally hungry generation, and a platform for participation that globally pulses every second, with voice and video calls, image sharing, and messaging. However, used for the wrong purposes, it can leave medical professionals with a big headache – a major data breach. So, as pressures on the health service are intensifying to diagnose and communicate more quickly, are we in danger of creating a data-dystopian society, which is putting patients’ information at risk?


What’s the problem?


According to research undertaken by BMJ Innovations, WhatsApp is used by 97% of doctors to routinely send patient data without gaining consent, albeit that 68% were ironically concerned about sharing information in such a public way. This is a worrying trend, given that information security is paramount today,


‘‘ 156 Health Estate Journal October 2019


Vulnerabilities within messaging services raise serious concerns around end-to-end encryption on platforms such as WhatsApp


and that recent public health sector cyber-attacks have devastated systems with ransomware and malicious botnets. Falling foul of data security can be a bitter pill to swallow. With the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) having the power to bite with hefty fines, being non-compliant will be damaging to both reputation and finances. Today, people are empowered cybercitizens who can enforce the ‘Right to be Forgotten’, and demand consent before their sensitive information is


This article, entitled ‘A clean bill of health for instant messaging’, first appeared in the May 2019 issue of HEJ’s sister magazine, The Clinical Services Journal. HEJ thanks the magazine’s editor, and the author, for allowing its reproduction here in slightly edited form.


shared, stored, and used for commercial purposes.


Vulnerabilities within messaging services raise serious concerns around end-to-end encryption on platforms such as WhatsApp, and the data-in-transit security on phones and servers must comply with NHS security and privacy standards. Smart hackers choose to target these platforms because they contain weak security, which acts as an open door to steal valuable biomedical data to commit identity fraud. Once a cybercriminal has built a profile of an innocent victim, it is possible to use this information to access their bank accounts, online shopping channels, and even government-held information. Another concern for healthcare services is the potential for data misuse by staff that leave their job at the organisation. If they have been using WhatsApp on their personal devices to send and receive patient data, they will still have access to this data when they leave the organisation. This could constitute a serious breach of data privacy regulations, and open patients up to their data being misused. A secure, integrated messaging platform managed by IT staff could prevent this kind of data breach, by ensuring that employees


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