The rise of electronic health records is a double-edged sword for businesses and the health care industry. Although they make recordkeeping much simpler and reduce the risk of errors, they also are an inviting target for cyber thieves.

"The health care industry is arguably the most heavily regulated in the area of privacy and data security," said Al Saikali, a partner and co-chair of Shook Hardy & Bacon's Data Security and Data Privacy Practice Group, based in Miami. 

Even so, the high rate of exposure is due in large part to the proliferation of electronic health records and the need to exchange and make those records available quickly from one provider to another, and between providers and their vendors. "With so many hands on a medical record and the copies of the medical record, there are plenty of opportunities for unauthorized access or acquisition of those records," he said.