A quick look at the breach reporting website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will show you just how much of a problem online threats are in today’s world. Hackers see medical records as an easy target, as many organizations in the medical industry are running outdated systems. In one recent report, 83% of imaging devices are running on old operating systems, which is a major vulnerability easily exploitable by bad actors.
Dealing with breaches is no laughing matter, costing businesses on average $8.6 million in the United States alone. Therefore, for healthcare businesses, protection should be a major focus to ensure effective operations.
Need for Regulatory Compliance in Healthcare
As Healthcare Technology advances, IT has started to play a critical role:
- Electronic Health Record software, Pharmacy & Practice Management, Physician Order Entry Systems, and much more.
- Internet of Things (IoT) devices including air conditioning (HVAC) systems, remote patient monitoring devices, surveillance cameras, and more.
- In many cases, these systems also use legacy systems that may include software, operating systems, or legacy hardware.
Threats Targeting Healthcare Businesses
Malicious bad actors are targeting healthcare organizations so frequently because they hold information of very high value. Main targets for criminals typically include PHI, financial information such as credit card numbers and bank account numbers, as well as other valuable personally identifiable information (PII) like SSNs and home addresses. The most common forms of attacks include:
- Phishing
- Malware Attacks
- IoT Attacks
HIPAA Regulations
HIPAA is the federal law created to require standards in order to protect sensitive patient health information. HIPAA regulations are heavily enforced. Any organization that creates, collects, handles, or transmits PHI is required to comply with HIPAA regulations.
Best Practices
There are various best practices that all healthcare facilities should be implementing. From risk assessments, mobile device management, and multi-factor authentication to accessibility, device encryption, awareness training and more, compliance is not only essential for protecting business systems from threats, but also a necessity.
