
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — News reports are awash with data breaches at healthcare organizations, with California’s Sonoma Valley Hospital and the University of Florida in Gainesville among those reporting leaks just this week.
All the coverage and the penalties and settlements that sometimes results have heightened interest in breach insurance, or "cyber liability insurance," providers say.
"Health care is the space where I see the most people talking about data breach insurance," consulting firm GlassHouse Technologies security practice lead Sam Cattle told iHealthBeat.
Cyber liability insurance has been around for decades, but interest has really picked up in recent years, especially has HIPAA rules have tightened around patient privacy, but breach insurance isn’t a defense measure against intrusion – merely against liability.
"Whether you buy insurance or not, the risk doesn’t go away," IT Risk Managers president & CEO Larry Harb told iHealthBeat. "The only decision you are making is who is going to pay for it."
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