IT teams have a lot of challenges on their hands today. But I don’t have to tell you that. You’re battling them all the time.
What makes it even more strenuous is the speed at which new technology is being developed. Has your organization adopted AI? Or how about the Internet of Things: Are your medical devices becoming smarter every day?
The average healthcare organization now uses more than 900 different cloud-based services throughout their practice. That often comes as a surprise to the IT team. But what’s even scarier is that only around 60 of those services are known to the security team. The rest are pulled up and purchased by individual workers just trying to do their jobs more efficiently.
That number isn’t going to decrease anytime soon. In fact, predictions show that global healthcare cloud-based programs will reach about $10 billion by the end of 2020.
How do you reign in all of that potential sitting there and up for grabs for a would-be criminal?
Why is your data center such a prime target for hackers? It’s the ease of getting in and the opportunity once they have access to the data. EHR’s value stretches beyond one-time use. Whereas credit card information has a short life span, EHR data can be used for months, even years, and remain undetected if an organization doesn’t raise a red flag. That means more financial gain for the hacker.
A study from IBM Security/Ponemon Institute shows that the 2017 cost of a healthcare data breach sits at $380 per record. And considering most data breaches impact hundreds, even thousands of records at a time, that can have a significant impact on an organization’s bottom line.
It’s not the cloud-based application’s job to provide full security for your information, although they have a role in it. It’s your job to ensure full security protection throughout your organization, including your data center, and ensure every application used isn’t putting your information at greater risk. It’s making sure each cloud-based application works perfectly with one another, and doesn’t open up your data to even greater risk.
Can two cloud-based products working together open up one great big hole?
With more than 900 applications on average being used, that’s a pretty difficult strategy to develop and keep up with.
It involves a multi-layered approach: firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection, user access controls, training, two-factor authentication - these are just some of the things you should consider when developing your approach.
Is it difficult? Yep. Is it challenging? You bet.
Are you doing all you can to ensure your data is safe?
For IT Strategy, Cloud Conversion, or Help Desk Services reach out to us at Silver Linings Technology 360-450-4759.
