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DHS: U.S. health care records are the target of foreign hackers

According to a recent article in Federal Computer Week, foreign criminal hackers are targeting American health records.

Mark Walker of DHS Critical Infrastructure Protection Division recently told a National Institute of Standards and Technology workshop that the hackers' primary motive seems to be espionage. For example, any health problems among the nation's leaders would be of interest to potential enemies, he said.

Walker cited two events from 2007. In one, a virus was placed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. In another, there was a known data breach in the Tricare records for the Military … Read more

Outlook healthy for health care Web sites, but use caution

Although you can't singlehandedly fix the woes of national health care that are spotlighted in the movie Sicko, many free Web sites at least put a bit more power in your hands to manage personal wellness or a medical crisis. Just share your data wisely.

WebMD (a Webware 100 winner) offers videos, virtual support groups, quizzes, blogs, doctor lookups, and a spiffy symptom checker. Look up drugs by a pill's color, imprint or shape. WebMD won't spam you, but as with its competitors, if you subscribe to e-mail updates about some unappetizing ailment, then prepare for related … Read more