What is cybercrime?

Picture this: you walk into your practice, prepared to see your patients for the day. You attempt to log in to access your first patient’s chart, only to find a message demanding payment in cryptocurrency in exchange for your patient records. Your office is at a standstill until you determine your next move. This nightmare scenario describes ransomware—one of several tactics cyber criminals use to target health care providers of all sizes. 

Cybercrime is defined as any criminal activity that leverages technology to steal, disrupt or manipulate information. In optometric and other health care practices, this often includes social engineering, ransomware, malware and unauthorized access to sensitive data. What makes cybercrime particularly dangerous for optometric practices is the type of information at risk: patient health data and financial information. 

In 2023, health care accounted for 28% of all publicly reported data breaches in the United States, and small businesses accounted for 43% of cyber attacks. As optometric practices are often small businesses in possession of valuable data, they are particularly attractive targets for cyber criminals.  

Beyond stolen data, the consequences of a cyber attack can be severe. Practices may face downtime during patient care hours, reputational harm, potential HIPAA penalties, and costly recovery expenses. A single cyber attack can significantly disrupt daily operations and damage patient trust. 

Practice owners do not need to become cyber experts to keep their practices safe, but they do need to be diligent and take the threat of cybercrime seriously. Simple steps like staff awareness training, regular system updates, and strong password polices can lower the risk of an attack. Preparing an incident response plan that includes cyber liability insurance is key to providing the peace of mind that a practice will be protected in the case of a cyber attack.