5 Major Healthcare Cybersecurity Measures to Prevent Cyberattacks

Currently, in a time where healthcare systems are stretched out to their maximum limits, technology has played an important role in managing patients and hospital interactions. Cybersecurity is the most important thing to consider in HMIS. Healthcare IT systems have helped hospitals to figure out how to make it synchronized safely and securely.

Hackers have rapidly evolved their tactics to take unfair advantage of the fears of the population, which are already escalated during the pandemic. Adoption of cybersecurity best practices has become crucial for keeping pace with evolving threats, especially in healthcare. There have been tons of cybercrimes reported for phishing attempts and cyberattacks occurring at the current opportune time.

Health organisations, given the current supply of personal data are often susceptible to such risks. Data breaches also occur due to the negligence by employees in the form of weak passwords, unencrypted devices, and other failures of compliance. The connectivity of all the networks in an organisation can also exponentially increase the attack surface with hidden vulnerabilities which IT professionals might not be aware of.

The lack of proper security framework invites unwanted cyber threats & can result in financial and clinical risks to both the hospital and patients. Some of the most common threats faced by the healthcare industry are malware and ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, cyber-frauds etc.

Therefore, health organisations must prioritize to take necessary precautions and get ahead of these threats.

Below are 5 effective cybersecurity measures that can offer protection against cyber threats to the healthcare industry:

Role-based access control

The users receive permissions based on the roles assigned by the administrators. Role Based Access Control provides access roles to each user specific to their role in the organisation. e.g., clinical data prescribing, dispensing medication, administering, medications, ordering expensive investigations etc to determine their appropriate access levels. Access to protected information such as health records, and other private data should be granted strictly on a “need to know” basis by those authorised to view such information based on occupation titles. Access control improves the security of the system and helps eliminate internal threat attacks. It can be considered a critical measure for any healthcare organization looking to strengthen its cyber security infrastructure.

Educating healthcare workers to avoid potential security breaches

Training should be provided to all the healthcare staff to handle and report security breaches the right way. Educating them in  avoiding security breaches, for example, not clicking on unknown links, not opening email from unknown senders, do not download or install unknown software etc. With every proactive individual, it will be difficult for the cyber criminals to find an opening for a potential attack.

Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing

Unpatched vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure are often targeted by cyber criminals as it provides  a perfect opportunity to succeed in their attacks. Hence, all the security patches are updated at regular intervals. It is necessary to conduct periodic Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing to help keep the hospital’s IT infrastructure free from any weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

Backup Storage and Restoration

The best way to minimize damage caused by a cyber-attack is to employ seamless backup, offline storage and restoration techniques. Back-ups can be set at preferred times and can vary from real-time to hourly, 12 hourly or every 24 hours. Back-ups should be routinely monitored, and weekly checks carried out to test restoration from back-up are error free. This security protocol is especially effective against various ransomware attacks.

Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is a method of authentication used while a user accesses a system. It requires the user to provide two or more verification methods to access the system or an application. It has been proven to decrease the likelihood of a cyberattack by providing multiple protection rather than simply relying on a username and password as an authentication method. Weak and easily predicted passwords can be easily hacked when used alone. It is advisable to update and change the passwords frequently to avoid any unauthorised access.

Staying up-to-date and secure is largely essential for healthcare organisations today. We, at RioMed, have a strategic and unified approach to Cybersecurity. RioMed employs a multi-level endeavour to secure healthcare enterprises which includes network access control and installation of firewalls and anti-malware technology. Our cloud-based solution helps with the proactive and safe management of the electronic records of the healthcare ecosystem.  RioMed makes sure that our system, Cellma, has securely integrated endpoints and networks. It also ensures that sensitive data is protected from both internal and external threats.

RioMed aims to keep healthcare data secure and safe, therefore, we encourage healthcare organisations to adapt the latest Cybersecurity measures while using our system.

Is your organization interested in a secure and advanced healthcare solution? We are here to help! Contact us today.