THE KEY
A Trump administration decision to loosen privacy requirements for doctors treating patients over phone and video apps during the coronavirus pandemic raises the risk of hackers snooping on people’s highly personal medical information.
But even cybersecurity experts say it's worth making this compromise on cybersecurity to protect public health during the rapidly worsening crisis.
“We’re in a different environment today with this pandemic … Putting a patient in front of a doctor is what’s important,” said Curtis Dukes, a former top National Security Agency official who’s now executive vice president of the Center for Internet Security. “Given where we are today … this is a prudent step.”