There is no such thing as a completely secure computer, aside from one that isn’t ever powered on and is never connected to any network whatsoever.
This factor has become painfully clear in just the last few years, but especially so in the middle of May 2015 when ransomware crippled healthcare organization all around the world and stole the personal and private information of literally millions and millions of people.
The healthcare sector has improved their digital security significantly, but there are still vulnerabilities that exist. Here are 11 things the healthcare sector must do right now to better improve their cyber security going forward.
Update HIPAA for the 21st century
New security methodologies need to be implemented as part of the HIPAA agreement and security roles in the healthcare industry to better cover new technology in the sharing/collaborating done regarding patient information and privacy.
Better “housekeeping” needs to be taken care of
Care providers need to make sure that they really lock down permissions that make it possible to access medical charts and data, especially when it comes to unauthorized access from IT members and the like.
Invest in insurance
Financial services now offer a considerable amount of cyber insurance policies, and healthcare providers need to start thinking about taking advantage of this protection as it may never be possible to fully insulate their data or their servers.
Make cyber training mandatory across-the-board
Human error remains the number one reason private and personal medical information is stolen in the first place, and mandatory training across the board for all involved in the healthcare industry would go a long way towards stamping this out.
Protect supply chains more efficiently
A lot of cyber criminals do not attack hospitals or healthcare facilities directly but instead infests technology from vendors and suppliers that are later connected to the networks of those hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Collaborate on cyber security top practices
Better collaboration between healthcare industry members is the only way to fight back against cyber security today. It isn’t advantageous for one firm to have protection against attacks while the rest are left vulnerable.
Leverage better encryption
Encryption and stronger authentication will go a long way towards further securing the personal and private information of patients and everyone else involved in the healthcare community.
Take advantage of tokenization
Essentially substituting sensitive data with other unique but non sensitive data to obfuscate information as it is transferred, this is a tactic used by the credit card community for years and years to better secure their data and work in the healthcare world as well.
Chip card technology, too
The credit card community is also moving more towards “chip cards” to better combat fraud, and now that the general public is more familiar with this kind of technology the healthcare world can use it to to protect personal and private healthcare information.
Leverage block chain technology
Block chain technology makes it possible for all transactions to be recorded in a very transparent but still encrypted process, verifying – permanently – that files have been modified or adjusted by any unauthorized third party. This is game changing technology used currently in crypto currencies but could be used by the healthcare industry as well.
Invest in biometric security solutions
Biometric security solution that use unique characteristics of the actual patient to verify whether or not they have access to their information is a game changer in every sense of the word when it comes to encryption and security. These kinds of technologies aren’t mature enough for deployment just yet, but major investments from the healthcare world could make all the difference.
About the Author
Morris Edwards is a content writer at CompanyRegistrationinSingapore.com.sg, he writes different topics like Build a safe and healthy workplace and New Office Will Prepare Singapore for Increasingly-digital Society and all topics related to Business, E-commerce and Company Setup in Singapore.
