Protecting Hospitals and Healthcare Companies from Cyber Attacks

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A cyber breach can happen to any business, whether big or small. In the past few years, though, quite a number of hospitals and healthcare companies have been the victims of cyberattacks. These organizations house a large amount of sensitive information, which makes them prime targets for many persistent hackers.

Thus, not only are your patients’ and clients’ lives in your hands but so, too, is their confidential data. You must take every measure necessary to protect this information at all costs.

In this article, we’ll share some tips for keeping hospitals and health companies protected from potential cyber attackers.

Install HIPAA and HITECH Compliant Precautions

Your first line of defense is to install reliable firewalls, anti-virus software, and to invest in an attack detection platform. However, you can’t just use any applications that you find out in the market. You need to make sure that your organization utilizes systems that address all the requirements for HIPAA, HITECH, and PCI DSS compliance. Otherwise, you may face a hefty fee or imprisonment for non-compliance. Thus, make sure to employ applications and services that are up to the standards specified in these acts. Not only will you avoid paying huge fines, but you’ll also be sure that your network is fully protected.

Ask Your Employees to Use Strong Passwords

When creating corporate user accounts, passwords should be at least eight characters long. Ideally, it should also be comprised of a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, as well as symbols. Should your employees have too many accounts to juggle, you may want to look into industry-level subscription plans for password management systems. These can let you auto-generate passwords for you each time you create an account, as well as encrypt and save all of your login info. All you’ll need to remember is a master password to access your other login credentials.

Educate Your Staff on Essential Cyber Security Practices

Though much of the blame for breaches may be placed on computers, the most fallible part of any company is its own staff. Thus, it’s important to set aside some time and money to have healthcare IT experts to train your employees to use cybersecurity best practices. Additionally, quite a number of cyber attacks occur due to personnel accidentally losing their personal devices. If they left their accounts logged in, hackers can easily access your network without raising any flags. In case your staff members do need those devices on-the-go, instruct them to keep their devices passcode-locked and to enable data encryption. Better yet, set the device so that three or more incorrect passcode inputs will erase all the existing data on the device.

The Takeaway: It’s Better to Be Safe Than Sorry

As the internet becomes more and more crucial to our daily lives, so, too, does the importance of securing your network. It’s time to act before your hospital or healthcare insurance company falls victim to a breach. Keep yourself up-to-date on the latest hacking strategies, and don’t forget to consistently train and educate your staff on the best cybersecurity practices, too. Come up with a defense strategy ASAP and you’ll be able to thwart off any threats before they can do any damage to your organization.