The digital revolution has dramatically changed the cyber security expectations of health care providers as the number of connected devices exploded and the network perimeter grew. And this digital presence continues to accelerate.
The cyber attack did not subside during the epidemic, but it actually fueled the fire. The need for cyber security has increased in hospitals, and switching to telecommunications from other hospital staff has increased the challenge.
As technology becomes more complex, so are the threats of cyber attacks
Increased use of new technologies, including cloud, mobile, home appliances, Big Data and improved statistics for facilities and patients creates new risks.
The news comes as cyber attacks on health care facilities have grown significantly and worsened since 2018 in France.
There are many challenges that IT healthcare leaders will face in the complex medical industry. To be successful, IT healthcare professionals must help providers navigate the confusing insurance procedures, adhere to strict compliance requirements and, most importantly, ensure patient well-being.
It is also important for health care providers to have the expertise, safety, and procedures in place to ensure that their doctors, nurses, and administrative staff can always provide the highest level of care, either to in-office patients or through visible appointments. If any of these areas were not properly set up and not well managed, it could be catastrophic for the provider, their patients and their families.
How can you reduce the risk of cyber attacks on IT network infrastructure?
One of the major lessons from last year and these new processes has been the need to strengthen cyber security to better protect hospitals from the risk of IT infrastructure. And this requires a holistic approach to safety, which includes strategic thinking and especially appropriate technology to include the following:
- Security of connected devices
- Ownership management and access control through authentication and security policies
- Secure data encryption
- Network integration into sub-physical components
- Automatic network management
Steps to Strengthen Your IT Healthcare IT
- Review Your Security Status
Cybersecurity is one of the major IT health care challenges as hackers continue to target healthcare providers. Last September, a large series of US hospitals completely shut down its 400 programs for ransomware attacks. In the same month, a patient died while a rocket attack crippled a hospital in Germany.
Security breaches can be dangerous and can cause great damage to your finances and reputation. Perform a security check in your area to find out any hidden areas a cyber attacker can use to gain access to your network or more sensitive patient information including the social security numbers of patients, credit card details, bank account details or even medical history. Additionally, working with IT healthcare professionals can help your organization stay ahead of potential safety issues.
- Perform an IT test
An IT survey is a great way to get a picture of your current location and determine areas you can improve. IT healthcare professionals like Dataprise can provide complete risk and robust testing to your existing infrastructure. This test compares your technologies and policies compared to good industry practices and gives you a roadmap to help close any gaps. It also allows you to see areas that may not meet the requirements defined by strict compliance laws.
- Hire a Strategic Consultant
IT Health professionals can help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. An external strategic consultant works first with you to understand your people, organizational goals, IT pain points, and budget. Depending on their extensive knowledge of your industry and their specific organizational knowledge, they can provide you with short action tools to better align technology and processes to solve critical IT health care challenges.
Additionally, a consultant can work with you to map your IT programs to your organizational goals and help create a roadmap that supports the latest IT healthcare trends, including telehealth and remote care, artificial intelligence, and data management.
