The Who, What, When, and Why of Healthcare Industry Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity threats are always growing in terms of efficiency and sophistication. Evolving defense efforts to match that pace calls for an understanding of what these criminals are after and why.

The healthcare industry is filled to the brim with medical computers and EHR records housing valuable patient data. Cybercriminals are often chomping at the bit for this kind of information as it can sell for quite the pretty penny. Naturally, healthcare facilities are aware of this, making the necessary efforts to stop these attacks before they can make off with this data.

And so, cybercriminals constantly improve their methods of stealing this data to get around those efforts, causing healthcare professionals to continually improve their cybersecurity efforts in order to outpace those advances. It’s a cyclical pseudo-arms race in a never-ending battle for patient data.

Why is Cybersecurity Important in Healthcare?

Hospitals are regularly advancing the way care is delivered with new, interconnected pieces of hardware such as IoT capable devices. This is great for patients in need of efficient care, but it’s also great for criminals. After all, every device added to a healthcare facility’s network is just one more entry point through which they can steal patient data. For this reason, BYOD policies are often discouraged in healthcare settings since adding more devices that aren’t properly protected puts patients at even higher risk.

What do Healthcare Cyberattacks Target?

One of the most sought after targets of a cyberattack is login credentials. In the case of healthcare, the credentials that are usually targeted are those used to access patient records. This is because patient records have access to several key pieces of ID information ranging from names and birthdates to home addresses and even social security numbers.

Using these credentials, cybercriminals can log into a patient’s health record, record all this data, and use it to receive expensive healthcare they otherwise couldn’t afford. Conversely, they could even sell this data to others looking to steal the same kinds of benefits for large sums of money. Those with access to this information can even leverage it to obtain expensive drugs, medicare, and medicaid.

How Can We Improve Cybersecurity in Healthcare?

Below are a few popular and effective means of protecting patient health records and data.

Authentication Hardware

Patient data isn’t only stolen online. When data is stored on a computer or hard drive, simply stealing the hardware itself is an effective, albeit archaic, method of stealing information. Thankfully, authentication hardware such as RFID scanners and CAC readers exist to ensure whoever is accessing this hardware is authorized to do so.

With authentication hardware in place, even if a device is stolen, breaking into the device and accessing the data inside becomes much more difficult without a staff members’ RFID badge or CAC card.

Staff Training

According to Herjavec Group, 1 in 4 healthcare staff members haven’t been trained in proper cybersecurity practices. It should go without saying that having your staff know what to look for in a data breach can help them quickly report suspected cyberattacks to IT staff before a small concern can become a debilitating breach. In many cases, when staff is vigilant about the newest trends in cyberattack methods, they can pass off that knowledge to patients as well.

Single Sign On

Single sign on solutions allow healthcare facilities to authenticate staff as they log into their workstations. By using separate databases to reference credentials used to reference a patient’s record, SSO services only grant access to rightful users across all of the apps used on a nurse or physician’s workstation.

Used in conjunction with authentication hardware like RFID badges and CAC readers, medical tablets and computer on wheels setups can have a multi-tiered defense for dealing with cyberattacks.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a P2P network that encrypts any and all data stored within it. Furthermore, since the network is P2P based, any change or addition to data stored in the chain must be approved by all parties involved, making it much easier to track, spot, and eliminate any questionable activity from a cybercriminal.

Blockchain is particularly promising for healthcare because pushes have been made for a while to give patients access to their own health data. By adding patients as a member of this blockchain, they can have direct control over who is given access to their network and their information, meaning one more vigilant pair of eyes looking after that data and defending it from criminals.

Cybersecurity will Evolve in Tandem with Cybercriminals

As long as cybercriminals continue to enhance the ways they target patient data, the healthcare industry needs to stay vigilant and up to date on the newest and most efficient ways to protect themselves and their patients. For more information on how you can improve your facility’s cybersecurity efforts, contact an expert from Cybernet today.