6 Steps To Keeping Patient Data Safe
Benefits abound for healthcare organizations harnessing technology—as do the implicit risks. After all, a dizzying array of connected devices provides more potential points of entry than ever to cybercriminals, whose thirst for sensitive patient data seems only to grow.
Despite the growing focus on patient data security, breaches are on the rise. 2023 broke records as simultaneously the year with the highest number of healthcare data breaches and most record breaches recorded.
The good news is that healthcare IT teams can take meaningful steps to turn the tide.
Six Musts for Protecting Sensitive Patient Data
Potential data breaches exist everywhere, from connected life-saving medical devices to EMRs. The following are six key strategies to consider in preventing them—and limiting damage if and when one occurs.
Evaluate Your IoT Security Posture Regularly
The volume of mobile devices, wearables, and wireless equipment under your team's care will only continue to grow, as technology and affordability converge to make truly connected care even more viable. To keep up with the fast-changing threat landscape, it is wise to constantly assess your program for vulnerabilities.
Make mobile device monitoring (MDM) a priority.
MDM should be a priority for all mobile devices including personal smart devices accessing Wi-Fi point within the medical institution plus secured two-factor authentication for access externally via a virtual private network (VPN).
Establish protocols for device usage and monitoring.
The more personal devices in use in a hospital, the more likely that essential firmware or malware updates will be neglected. It's all too easy for an employee's personal smartphone to become vulnerable to a data breach. Provide clear guidelines on how employees should use and update their devices.
Monitor your wireless network airspace relentlessly.
Whatever security solutions your organization adopts, one rule of thumb applies to all: monitor, monitor, monitor. Periodic airspace monitoring is not adequate for protecting patient data. Instead, implement a continuous monitoring solution so IT managers can quickly pinpoint and remediate rogue access points and unsecured WLAN connections that put your entire network at risk.
Engage the C-suite.
A strong security program doesn't just need one champion—it needs many. You need champions in the highest levels of your organization to ensure that data security is considered a core organizational objective. Personal accountability down to every end-user must be transparent, continuous, and ubiquitous.
Understand the human element.
Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report insiders to be a top security risk. While some behavior is malicious, some estimates suggest that roughly two-thirds of attacks are a result of human error, such as employees falling for phishing scams, using misconfigured servers, or other unintended missteps. That's why it's vital to train all employees early and often in security tactics, and to provide regular check-ins and refresher security training.
From cloud security management to enterprise platform encryption and real-time backup, worthy security solutions are abundant. The patient data stream may be fraught with danger, but with a proactive cybersecurity strategy, you can keep your organization's cyber-defenses up, and vulnerabilities down.
