Five Ways to Fix Cybersecurity Issues in Healthcare
The number of cybersecurity threats in Healthcare increased by 55% in the last few years. Medical and financial institutions are most targeted by cybercriminals. According to a Verizon report, cyber crimes caused a $25 billion loss to the healthcare industry in 2020.
Why are there so many cybersecurity issues in the healthcare industry? The answer is pretty easy. Its vulnerability is highly dependent on the personal patients’ data that every healthcare facility stores. This data can include a wide range of information from birth date and medical history to payment details.
Healthcare companies are also affected by the loss of such data. It can often provoke law proceedings with patients whose data was revealed, and in such situations, compensation has to be paid. Such cases have a huge financial impact on medical businesses and can lead even to complete closure.
There are a few ways to protect your healthcare data despite a large number of victims of cybercrimes. We will take a look at the most common types of cyberattacks in healthcare and ways to how effectively fight them.
The most common healthcare cybersecurity issues
1. Outdated systems
The easiest way to fall victim to a hacker attack is to use old or outdated systems. Technologies are changing with time, as so the abilities of cybercriminals are advancing. Outdated systems no longer receive the proper security support. Updates on old machines are unable to compete with the security of modern ones. Breaching software is very simple for a modern hacker to crack. In this way, more advanced tech approaches will help ensure the long-term security of your data.
2. Untrained staff
Your employees become easy targets for hackers when they’re not educated to protect data in the right way.
3. Unsecure network connections
Most companies are using wireless networks to keep work processes up and running. To be clear, many do not realize that cybercriminals can easily use this network as a gateway for a possible attack. Badly optimized networks that lack appropriate security optimization can be easily hacked.
Top healthcare cybersecurity solutions to protect your data
There are at least five main ways to protect your healthcare organization from malicious attacks:
1. Telemedicine usage
Telemedicine solutions are becoming very popular among healthcare providers. They help to optimize the flow of information inside any organization and ensure the protection of your data.
In addition, they bring a vast range of new benefits for companies including better admission settings, smoother access to medical records, faster payment functionality, and improved patient care.
2. Data migration to the cloud
For now, a bigger and bigger number of medical organizations are preferring to move their infrastructure to the cloud to use their security features. In addition, the healthcare cloud computing market has grown to $28.1B in 2020 and is expected to reach $64.7B by 2025.
Source: Markets and Markets
In the cloud, there are many options of how data can be protected, from encrypting to using a blockchain-based system.
Moreover, cloud services bring many other benefits, including expenses reduction, flexibility, and almost unlimited space for data storage.
3. Multi-factor authentication
According to Google, proper implementation and use of multi-factor authentication inside your organization can reduce the number of automated attacks nearly by 99.9%.
4. Regular safety training for your employers
As previously mentioned, data breaches often occur due to ignorance of simple rules. It is strongly recommended to conduct cybersecurity training regularly for all employees. This will ensure that everyone is following the company’s cybersecurity policies. Furthermore, it will also allow your employees to feel more confident about their data protection.
5. Backups and recovery planning
Separately located backups are a rational way to protect your business data, especially when you suffer from malicious attacks that steal or prevent you from accessing data. Make sure you back up all essential data daily, either on a separate locale server or in the cloud.
Besides, it is always a good idea to have a master plan in a case when cyberattack comes down. This will help you respond to the attack immediately.
In conclusion
You can’t underestimate the importance of data security in healthcare. Moreover, it’s critical to know how to protect patients’ data properly.
Abto Software has already implemented many healthcare cybersecurity strategies for clients. Contact us if you search for a partner that can help you in the pathway of your medical organization protection.
