(Newswire.net — July 29, 2022) –One of the most pressing issues in healthcare cybersecurity is protection against cyberattacks. According to a recent survey, most healthcare providers (including hospitals and physician groups) are unprepared to deal with data breaches. Survey findings indicate a 300 percent increase in the likelihood of a data breach for medical businesses with 500 or more patient information.
Attacks on numerous medical facilities have severely slowed or halted their operations, which is problematic under any circumstances but nearly impossible during a pandemic. In all of these instances, inefficient but effective manual pen and paper systems were required due to the presence of contaminated data and systems.
Attackers utilize various methods to breach networks, locate sensitive data, and then use encryption technologies to lock the data before holding it for ransom. Taking the precautions described in this article will assist medical professionals in safeguarding their practices, their client’s information, and financial stability. With these simple tips in place, you can protect yourself and lessen the chance of your office being a victim of an incident like this again.
1. Invest in an IT Staff
Even if you take all of these steps below, ensure your network is secure and that you have a safety net in place; if it isn’t will require an IT staff to install and maintain them. Many practices don’t have that luxury and thus need to rely on outside help. Of course, while individuals may do these hacks, they are getting more advanced by the day. Having someone with a little extra knowledge on-site or managing IT company can be a big help in the face of such challenges.
2. Upgrade Your Security Infrastructure
The number of IoT devices even your most technologically illiterate workers invent grows in tandem with the expansion of the IoT. This means that you need to be careful where you connect these items and what kind of data you’re sharing with them. If a hacker knows about the unsecured devices in your office, your own practice’s data will also be at risk. In this case, it’s much better to have an IT staff set up the devices and protocols in your infrastructure instead of leaving it up to you to figure out how everything works and what steps need to be taken.
3. Educate All Employees on the Risks
Finally, to help keep yourself and your data as safe as possible, make sure that every person who handles any piece of information in your office knows the risks of cyber security breaches and how to avoid them. It’s not enough to learn about these things when something happens; you need to think about them regularly to be proactive in protecting yourself.
This step is important because people are the weakest link regarding cyber security. While technology is important, if people don’t know what to do and, more importantly, why they have to do it, your data will be at risk until a better system can be brought online.
Hackers will always find ways to compromise no matter how diligently security procedures are followed. The question now for healthcare networks is whether they can withstand increasingly sophisticated and frequent attacks without collapsing. Healthcare facilities serve as examples of necessary public infrastructure. The various holes in their defenses leave them vulnerable, but security may be improved and even fortified with these measures.