NEW TREND OF DARK WEB: HACKERS SELL DOCTORS’ IDENTITIES FOR $500 IN DISTURBING.
Cyber criminals trade all the information needed to pose as a healthcare professional in order to commit insurance fraud and obtain drugs.
The identities of doctors are selling on the dark web for $500, new research reveals.
Hackers are obtaining all the details needed to pose as a medical professional by targeting hospitals and other healthcare organizations, which possess huge troves of highly valuable data.
The hacked data is then sold through black markets on the dark web – a section of the internet that is only accessible using specialist software.
Documents on sale include malpractice insurance documents, medical diplomas, board recommendations, medical doctor licenses, and DEA licenses.
Cyber criminals are able to use this stolen information to forge the identities of doctors in order to submit fraudulent insurance claims or obtain prescriptions for controlled drugs like opioids.
“The price is warranted when you consider what can be done with the data. Cyber criminals can use this information to facilitate insurance fraud, as well as submit prescriptions for controlled substances like opioids. These can then be sold on the black market at a steep profit.”
More than three quarters of the organizations said they had experienced an increase in cyber attacks over the past year.
This information is generally cheaper to obtain, with forged prescriptions costing between $10 and $120 on the dark web and insurance login information costing as little as $3.25 per record.