If you operate a care facility, you wear a lot of hats throughout the day. Cybersecurity is just one of the many tasks you’ve added to your daily to-do lists.
You might even have a routine down for prevention. To prevent cybersecurity threats, you might have firewalls in place, load antivirus software on each of your workstations, and utilize encryption to secure sensitive data. No matter what you’ve used, it’s brought you to today, hopefully with few or no incidents.
Yet the statistics continue to line up:
- The most popular target among hackers is healthcare, costing more than $25 billion in the last two years alone.
- It’s estimated that lost or stolen PHI may cost the US healthcare industry up to $7 billion annually.
- Between 60 to 80 percent of data breaches go unreported.
- About 78 percent of healthcare data breaches come from hackers or IT incidents.
These numbers aren’t going away anytime soon. In fact, they’re expected to escalate rapidly due to rapidly changing technology. You're only as secure as your latest strategy. If you’re not making consistent changes, you’re falling behind.
AI Is Changing Everything
At its root, AI is the theory and development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence. It can take repetitive actions and turn them into automated processes.
Can AI help with cybersecurity? You bet. There are many ways AI can be integrated into a cybersecurity plan and help your facility stay more secure.
How about threat detection? AI-powered cybersecurity systems can continuously monitor network traffic, user behaviors, and system activities to detect anomalies that could indicate potential security breaches. Machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns associated with various cyber threats, allowing for quicker detection and response.
It’s also good for behavioral analysis. AI can analyze the behavior of users and devices within your care facility's network to identify deviations from normal patterns. For example, if a medical device starts behaving unusually or a staff member accesses sensitive patient information outside their regular duties, AI systems can flag these activities as potential security risks.
It can pinpoint areas where you’re vulnerable. AI can assist in identifying and prioritizing security vulnerabilities within your infrastructure. By analyzing system configurations, software versions, and patch histories, AI systems can help prioritize which vulnerabilities pose the greatest risk, telling you which needs to be addressed first.
It can even help with security training and awareness. AI can assist in providing personalized cybersecurity training and awareness programs for each of your team members. By analyzing employees' knowledge gaps and learning preferences, AI systems can deliver targeted training materials and simulations to help each staff member recognize and respond to security threats more effectively.
But Can I Trust It?
Whatever you are learning about security, hackers are learning it too. You may be looking at AI to strengthen your defenses, yet cybercriminals are using it to find easier ways to penetrate your systems.
Advancements in research and development offer ways to stay ahead of the curve, improve predictive capabilities, and keep your IT strategy on track. You can’t be afraid of what technology brings; you need to find ways to use it for future growth. The key is to utilize it in the best way possible, which often requires partnering with resources that help you use it effectively.
AI in cybersecurity will bring both challenges and opportunities to build a system that can withstand whatever comes down the pipeline. If you can’t beat it, join it. It’s the best way to ensure your security measures keep you on top of this ever-changing landscape.
For IT Strategy, Cloud Conversion, or Help Desk Services reach out to us at Silver Linings Technology 360-450-4759.
