Cyber Security in Healthcare

During the covid-19 pandemic in Canada and elsewhere, healthcare organizations are preferring to adopt technology for providing healthcare services remotely. However, this has made organizations more vulnerable to attacks by cyber-criminals. This makes it even more important for the organization to hire a chief information security officer (CISO) for assessing and reducing the risk of cyberattacks. He will also plan and execute a system to protect the organization's IT systems and patient data against attacks, and improve the IT security culture in the organization. 

Since many organizations cannot find or afford a full-time CISO, they can consider a virtual CISO (vCISO) as an alternative option. 

vCISO benefits 

Since the vCISO has worked in different industry sectors, they have comprehensive information and experience in implementing methods for improving security after considering the risk and compliance issues. vCISO in healthcare can accurately determine the security challenges and manage them without affecting the functioning of the healthcare organization. 

The vCISO expert will also decide the security issues which the healthcare business should track, manage. In some cases, the vCISO can be considered for a position as the organization's top management so that he can clearly communicate the risk to the management, and allow the right decision to be made. 

Some of the challenges a vCISO can help healthcare organizations handle are:

Challenge Addressed #1: Limited Budget

Limited budget often makes it difficult for the organization to hire, retain staff required for handling IT security issues. The IT managers are often distributing IT security work to different staff, there is no coordination, so the IT systems are vulnerable. Hence the organization should consider hiring a vCISO who can start work immediately using his expertise in security matters to fix the vulnerabilities, train employees and business growth, at a far lower cost than a full-time employee 

Challenge Addressed #2: Data Prioritization 

vCISO will help determine the data that has to be protected, how it should be protected, and how the loss of data will adversely affect the organization, the regulatory, reputational, and financial penalties faced. Healthcare organizations are producing a large amount of data, and this data is extremely valuable at $250 per record, far more than card-related data, which is priced at $5.40 in the black market. 

Challenge Addressed #3: Risk of Technology

With new technologies like the Internet of things (IoT) being used extensively, cybercriminals are able to attack using more methods, and this increases the risk, because they are not secure, and cannot be upgraded easily. Since telehealth services are being used extensively, data sharing has increased, with the delivery of remote care through mobile devices. This can affect data privacy and cause non-compliance. The vCISO will assess the systems, technology used, determine the likely threats and suggest improvements 

Challenge Addressed #4: Healthcare Regulations

Healthcare is extremely regulated, so vCISO with experience on relevant regulatory standards, ensuring compliance can help. Many organizations are using public clouds, so they have to comply with different guidelines like HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. The vCISO will determine the right framework for security programs, and compliance with reporting standards. 

Conclusion 

With telehealth and cyber-crimes evolving, healthcare organizations should invest in improving their cybersecurity. Hiring a competent vCISO can help the organization get the IT security expertise it requires, at an affordable price.

If you’d like to learn about some of the other benefits an experienced vCISO can provide to an organization in the Healthcare sector, contact us today!