Cybersecurity impacts almost all entities today. More so, the healthcare industry. How does cybersecurity influence this most impactful industry existing today? Let us uncover several reasons why.
Cybersecurity Healthcare
The healthcare industry is the weakest in comparison to other industries.
The business of healthcare is all about data and information.
Hence, it is the primary target of cybercriminals. Healthcare has the most significant amount of data which is highly valuable in the black market.
And yes, it is the biggest business today.
Growing Cyber Attacks
Healthcare cyber-attacks have become more sophisticated and intimidating. The number of these attacks is increasing day by day. There are also those attacks that go unnoticed for a long time. For example, hackers can gain access to hospital computer systems and hold data for ransom for months. That is, without any discovery by the owner. And this threat isn’t going away-it’s only getting worse.
The healthcare industry is currently facing an ever-increasing amount of attacks on its information technology networks and infrastructure. Unfortunately, a lot of these attacks are successful due to poor security practices by many organizations.
The healthcare industry has seen incredible growth in technology over the past few years. This growth has increased the need for IT professionals who can handle this transition and keep security at top-of-mind as they design and deploy new systems. With more than five million people working in the industry, this is not only exciting but challenging as well.
Best Practices of Applying Cybersecurity in the Healthcare Industry
1. Have a Cybersecurity Policy
Healthcare organizations should implement an all-encompassing cybersecurity policy. This should also include policies and procedures to help protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the organization’s data and information systems.
Hence, make sure to include cybersecurity policies and procedures in business continuity and disaster recovery plans. This will help ensure that the organization maintains control of its data even if there is a major disaster.
2. Maintain an updated inventory of the organization’s IT systems and software applications.
This will make it easier for you to detect unauthorized access or changes in these systems.
Maintaining an updated inventory is also important for disaster recovery planning. This inventory will help you identify the systems and data for recovery following a disaster. It should also include contact information for vendors who can provide support for these systems and applications.
3. Train Healthcare Employees with Cybersecurity Practices
Healthcare organizations need to train their employees, contractors, and business associates on how to use the organization’s cybersecurity policy. This includes a review of the purpose of the policy, risk management, privacy and security policies, and what is required of them when using IT systems.
Training should be provided regularly. Employees who are aware of their responsibilities when handling sensitive data are less likely to commit a cybersecurity breach.
4. Keep Sensitive Data Safe
Healthcare organizations must develop policies and procedures to protect the organization’s sensitive data. This data includes:
- Personally identifiable information (PII).
- Data related to research.
Also, other sensitive information should be encrypted or protected by other means to keep it safe from cybercriminals.
The organization should also develop policies to prevent unauthorized access to this sensitive data. This should include encryption of this data, strong authentication, and multi-factor authentication or at least one factor.
The organization should also consider using the cloud or outsourcing its data backup, storage, and recovery services to a trusted third party. This will improve the reliability of the organization’s IT systems and help decrease the risk of a cyber attack in the case that an IT system is compromised.
In addition, healthcare organizations should develop policies that prevent business associates from accessing or transmitting sensitive data.
5. Secure Healthcare Devices
Healthcare organizations should develop policies and procedures to secure any devices used by the organization. This includes smartphones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. These devices can be used to access the organization’s information systems and transmit sensitive data over the Internet.
Data on these devices should be encrypted. Also, these devices should be protected by antivirus software with updated virus definitions. This will help prevent malware from infecting these devices and prevent it from collecting sensitive data.
