How Healthcare Systems Can Protect Their Data

Protecting patients’ privacy while providing high-quality medical care and maintaining strict regulatory standards is challenging for healthcare professionals and business associates.

Health care providers are required by law to protect the privacy and security of a patient’s medical records. Strict data protection rules apply to healthcare providers and other entities that receive, use, or transfer patient records, including heavy penalties and fines.

With the technological advancements and the advent of the digital world today, patient records are saved digitally on desktops, databases, and storage devices. Data breaches, viruses, and other unwanted attacks connected with digital records are higher threats than others.

In this blog, we will discuss what healthcare professionals should be aware. We will also discuss how to secure patient records from cybercriminals.

Why is healthcare data more vulnerable?

The healthcare business is at a more significant risk of data breaches because of the data gathered and stored in this field.

Patients’ names, birthdates, addresses, payment bank details, and other important details are included in highly detailed signed and dated by healthcare organizations.

With such information collecting, healthcare organizations are more susceptible to data breaches. Moreover, health data tend to demand a higher price on the black market than other forms of hacked data. Businesses such as Health centers must have sufficient data security procedures on these factors.

Most Concern Cyberattacks on Healthcare Data

Ransomware

Cyber attackers disrupt the functionality of surgical instruments and life-support systems by restricting access to the entire medical system in addition to data encryption and demanding payment for its recovery.

Phishing

Phishing emails, social media postings, and messages may include links or attachments which compromise network systems with malware. This virus also may spread across the existing networks.

Man-In-The-Middle Attacks

Cybercriminals insert themselves into communication or transferring of data to steal personal user information, which results in severe financial losses and legal consequences for a breach of confidentiality.

DDOS Attacks

DDoS attacks are prevalent in the healthcare sector. Cybercriminals use it to take down networks, causing significant concern for medical facilities that rely on their network for effective patient care.

Network vulnerabilities attacks

Patients’ personal health information is at risk on the medical facilities’ wired and wireless networks due to attacks such as address resolution protocol (ARP), HTTPS spoofing, and other online crimes.

Data Security Solutions You Should Use to Secure Healthcare System’s Data

Depending on the data storage techniques, the types of data you gather, how long you retain data, and other factors, you need to use specific healthcare data security solutions. 

Generally, you must have security precautions, including security guidelines for your patients, staff, consultants, suppliers, and distributors.

Data Encryption

The purpose of data encryption is to prevent malicious or negligent parties from gaining access to sensitive data. Encryption, a crucial component of a cybersecurity architecture, makes it harder for collected data to be used.

It is suitable for various data security demands, from protecting sensitive government information to the safety of personal transactions.

Ransomware Security Protection

You should look for an application to secure your computer systems from ransomware. A harmful attack prevents you from accessing your own devices and keeps them as hostages until you pay a ransom to the hacker.

Even if you pay the demanded ransom, there is no assurance that they will completely restore your access to the data.

Use Antivirus, Anti-malware, and Spyware Apps

You must block viruses, malware, spyware, and other potentially harmful applications from your computers. Choose a program that’s right for you, then make sure it’s up to current.

Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Since it can be hard to trust employees, contractors, vendors, suppliers, or other people to use strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication is another way to keep your data safe.

Users should insert their username and password and verify through one-time-use passcode sent to their email or mobile phone.

System Monitoring Apps

Several programs are available for a range of activities, processes, and procedures. You can use an app to track what other people are doing with your files.

An additional app might help you keep track of possible data breaches. More applications exist to identify unwanted access, user account changes, and more. 

Cybersecurity Measures Healthcare Can Take

Here are several medical safety precautions that can implement to secure ePHI by securing devices, digital systems, networks, and data records against attacks:

Healthcare staff training

The human factor continues to represent one of the most significant security risks across all sectors, particularly in the healthcare industry. Simple acts of neglect or mistake on the part of people can have severe and unreasonably costly consequences for healthcare institutions.

Safety awareness training provides healthcare personnel with the information they need to make smart choices and exercise proper caution while managing patient records.

Data usage control 

Malicious file activity should be monitored and controlled by clinics. Several ways they can achieve this include systems integration prohibiting unwanted acts using data, preventing unauthorized email distribution, and more.  

For additional information, you should do the following:

• Keep records of data to detect illegal access to patient files immediately.
• Secure the data by implementing strict rights policies
• Use strong encryption to encrypt the data during storage and transmission.

Encrypt data 

When it comes to protecting confidential patient records, healthcare institutions will find that encryption is one of the most helpful tools.

Even if an attacker can obtain access to the data, it will be much more difficult for them to decrypt patient information if the data has been encrypted both while it is in transit and while it is stored. 

Secure mobile devices

Whether a doctor uses a phone to access data to treat a patient or an admin filing insurance claims, healthcare providers and regulated businesses increasingly use mobile devices to conduct their business.

Security precautions for mobile devices include several precautions, such as:

• Taking control of all equipment, preferences, and settings
• Implement using secure passwords
• Allowing remote lock and wipe of stolen or lost devices
• Encrypting application data
• keeping an eye on email accounts and files to protect from malware infections or unauthorized data theft
• Installation of security software, such as mobile device management solutions

Control access to sensitive healthcare data

The best method to maintain data security is to limit access to those who need it. Access controls make this possible.

The Healthcare industry must decide who needs specific data and correctly set access restrictions. Then, the information important to a billing consultant might also not be necessary to a doctor.

Due to a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities, several types of data are required, and not all will be relevant to every staff member.

Access controls need to establish so billing specialists may get the files necessary for their tasks, and doctors can access the data they need to do their tasks.

Use a secure location for data backup.

Ransomware is only one example of how cyberattacks may affect data integrity or accessibility and expose important patient data. The data that has not been adequately backed up might be destroyed even in the event of a natural calamity affecting the data center of a healthcare organization.

One excellent way to maintain the safety of your remote data backups is to do them regularly with regular encryption and security checks, as well as other best practices. As part of disaster recovery, offsite data backups are also important.

To prevent this attack, install security programs such as AVG Ransomware Protection to ensure the security of patients’ sensitive records. 

Conduct regular risk assessments

A healthcare organization’s security can enhance by conducting regular risk assessments, exposing weak spots in employee training, weaknesses in the overall security of suppliers and business partners, and other issues that need attention.

By regularly monitoring risk across a healthcare organization to actively identify and manage possible risks, healthcare providers and their business partners may prevent expensive data breaches and other negative repercussions, such as brand reputation and penalties. 

Final Thoughts

Although this is much time, it is crucial to understand how to maintain health care information security in managing health organizations properly. As data becomes more significant, it is essential to guarantee its safety and integrity.

Moreover, you can keep track of security and compliance issues by using monitoring software as your first line of protection against insider threats.

AUTHOR:

Jennysis Lajom is a former chemist who has a passion for creating content. Her desire to work in content creation, writing, and social media marketing developed from her enthusiasm for digital marketing. She is also a content writer in Microsoft Softvire AU and Microsoft Softvire US