When everything is connected to the web, all of our data can then be stored on servers. Companies can use this data to learn more about our buying habits and segment their markets accordingly.
But if all our on-line data is potentially vulnerable to hackers, what are the implications for health data—the most personal data we have?
Until very recently, medical confidentiality agreements between caregivers and their patients were sufficient to ensure that health data remained private. But now that connected devices have become part of our daily lives, ensuring the privacy of health data has become a major concern.
Information about our medical condition can be worth up to ten times more than our bank details, which is why secure systems are so important. Additional security measures have been developed to store data on private servers. In this way, full disclosure of the patient’s health data is prevented—even for the company that developed the monitoring device.