While the thought of a medical institution’s records getting hacked might seem frivolous initially, it is an actual issue that prevails in this highly digitized world. Millions of social security numbers, private email addresses, and patient health records are in the crosshairs of dangerous hackers.
There are plenty of red flags when these hackers start initiating their bug attacks. However, the differences are so minor that it is impossible to spot them with the naked eye. Either the email addresses are a bit different, or the domain name has a different service provider; these intricacies are usually overlooked.
In the worst-case scenario, the entire legacy system can get corrupted owing to a server attack. This means that every patient’s data will be accessible, resulting in a massive breach of trust and privacy.
An Overview of Cyber Attacks in the Healthcare Sector
The healthcare industry has now also been highlighted among the sectors that are more prone to cyber-attacks and thefts. Even after keeping the data obliteration aside, the hospitals are legally responsible for preserving the information shared by patients from being stolen/exposed, according to a part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed in 1996.
How to Eradicate Healthcare Cyber Attacks?
While the paradigm of data privacy has been demolished by extensive tracking algorithms, there are some preventive measures that can be taken to secure your digital fortress.
§ IT Infrastructure Development
There are many medical care providers that still use legacy systems without any cloud protection or two-factor authentication, which makes the database easy to breach. This problem can be solved by enhancing the technical infrastructure with modern firewalls and multiple layers of protection. The internal usage of data should also be monitored, and its access should be restricted to authorized personnel only.
§ Budget Allocation & Room For Development
Most companies have a fixed budget for cyber healthcare security that restricts them from introducing organization-wide upgrades. On the contrary, companies spend millions of dollars to recover their lost brand image owing to digital attacks and reported thefts. The only logical way to solve this problem is by conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the impact that limited budgets can deliver.
§ Outsourcing & Seeking Expert Help
Since there are a lot of operational domains in any medical facility, a smart move towards cyber security as well as other administrative responsibilities can be the option of outsourcing. An outsourced team will take care of your entire security and ensure that your healthcare practice is safe from potential cyber-attacks and data breaches.
Stat MedCare is one such player that can help you bid farewell to all your compliance and billing-related woes. The team delivers excellence in the form of customized services along with introducing expert opinions and state-of-the-art technology to streamline medical credentialing services. Contact us to know more about our service offerings.
