Written by Rich Murphy, Product Director - iatricSystems
Your inbox has likely been filling up with the news of continuous data breaches of healthcare facilities across the United States. You know healthcare organizations are a prime target for cyber criminals – and the data agrees. According to Black Book Market Research, more than 93% of healthcare organizations have experienced a data breach in the past three years, with little signs of slowing down.
Now is the time to review your cyber security strategy, and to help, we’re giving you the top 4 challenges you’ll likely face in 2021 — let’s dive into it:
1. The Risks Beyond Ransomware
There have been more than 80 publicly reported ransomware attacks on healthcare providers in 2020. Yet, while ransomware made countless headlines last year, it’s just one of the many types of malware that put your organization at risk.
IBM found that 95% of most breaches come from an end-user clicking on something they shouldn’t — usually a phishing scam, which accounts for 90% of security breaches. You need to make sure you’re protected against all forms of malware including, viruses, worms, adware, scams, phishing, spyware and more.
2. More Devices, Less Security
Even before some of your hospital staff shifted to remote working, your employees were likely using mobile devices like laptops, company phones, tablets, etc. These are all endpoints, and they can serve as a welcome mat for cyber criminals if left unprotected.
Tessian’s State of Data Loss Prevention 2020 report revealed 84% of IT security professionals say data loss prevention becomes more challenging during work-from-home. It makes sense — those endpoints were managed, updated, and protected within the four walls of your organizations. Now, your staff connects from home and are likely using nonsecure networks. You’ve not only laid out the welcome mat, but you’ve also given those cyber criminals the key.
3. Lack of Cybersecurity Expertise
Healthcare organizations know they’re vulnerable and have started to put cyber security at the top of their priority list. Abbott research showed that while 91% of hospital admins considered data security a top focus last year, 62% still felt inadequately trained and unprepared to mitigate cyber risk that could impact their hospital.
The challenge is that there’s a huge skills gap when it comes to cybersecurity, not just for the healthcare sector but across the globe. According to CSIS, the global cybersecurity workforce shortage is projected to reach upwards of 1.8 million unfilled positions by 2022. But you need real cyber security expertise to adequately protect your organization.
4. Finding a Comprehensive Cyber Security Solution
Many healthcare facilities have bits and pieces of cyber security, but firewalls and antivirus aren’t enough. When looking for a cyber security solution, ask the provider what they cover, such as security over your network, cloud, endpoints and mobile devices. Single-point protection isn’t enough — you’ll either be left vulnerable or find yourself having to hire multiple cyber security providers.
At iatricSystems™, we’ve partnered with Field Effect to deliver Covalence — the most sophisticated cyber threat monitoring solution, made simple. Covalence uses comprehensive managed detection to identify threats and potential vulnerabilities and deliver the information to you as simple, prioritized, actionable reporting, so your team knows exactly when — and how — to jump into action. We invite you to learn more about Covalence in our upcoming demonstration webinar.
Above all, the threat of cyber criminals isn’t going away soon. It’s up to hospitals to ensure they have the protection they need to proactively fight against cyber attacks to keep their organization, employees and patients safe. And when you need healthcare IT expertise, we’ll always be here to lend a hand.
