Email has been the most common type of health care data cyber breach for 12 of the past 14 months.

Employee health and insurance information may be the most-guarded data in any organization. Unfortunately, it also may be the most vulnerable to security breaches. In fact, HHS recorded a record 44 data breaches affecting 686,953 people during the month of April alone.

“Health information is a significant concern as it often contains the most sensitive personal data, such as medical records and medical diagnoses,” said Matt Cullina, managing director, global markets, for CyberScout in Providence, R.I. His company provides cyber protection solutions for more than 770,000 businesses worldwide.

“When we consider how often employers share, copy and move their employees' health insurance data, through benefits enrollment as well as to and from other parties and vendors, it becomes clear how vulnerable this information can be,” he said. “It is the employer's responsibility to ensure employee data is protected wherever it goes, even when it leaves the company.”