< + > How To Safeguard Healthcare Data and Systems in The Digital Age

The following is a guest article by Pukar Hamal, Founder and CEO at SecurityPal

While Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have made managing data easier, they’ve also become a prime target for cybercriminals. The healthcare industry, with its diverse range of patients and stakeholders, faces especially high stakes when it comes to data security. A breach can be incredibly costly—according to the IBM/Ponemon Institute’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Study, the average cost of a healthcare data breach reached $10.93 million, almost double the average across other sectors. This highlights the urgent need to protect patient information by implementing robust cybersecurity measures.

The increasing complexity of healthcare IT systems has made them more vulnerable to cyber threats. Here’s how these challenges are playing out:

• Rising Cyberattacks: We’ve seen a significant increase in cyberattacks, like ransomware, phishing, and data breaches, all targeting healthcare data; for the 13th year in a row, breaches involving healthcare data are the most expensive
• Complex IT Infrastructures: The interconnected networks of EHRs, medical imaging devices, and digital appointment systems have made healthcare IT environments more complicated; this complexity creates more opportunities for attackers to find weak spots
• Regulatory Pressure: Healthcare organizations need to follow strict regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); these regulations set high data protection and privacy standards and for multinational healthcare organizations, navigating these regulations could add another layer of challenge 

Considering these challenges and the high financial stakes involved, below are some key steps that I believe can strengthen cybersecurity and data protection in healthcare:

Step 1: Assess IT Infrastructure Weaknesses

Regularly checking for vulnerabilities in your IT infrastructure is key to spotting weak spots before cybercriminals do. This involves scanning networks, systems, and applications to uncover potential risks that could be exploited.

I believe automation is crucial for cybersecurity and IT infrastructure—it helps catch misconfigurations and other critical vulnerabilities that need attention. And don’t forget about routine security audits; they’re essential for making sure you’re following best practices and staying ahead of the ever-changing security and IT landscape.

Legacy systems in healthcare can be particularly risky because they often run on outdated software and hardware environments that no longer receive security updates. It’s important to assess these systems for vulnerabilities and start planning for upgrades or replacements. If the cost of replacing legacy IT systems is high, consider isolating these systems from the rest of your network and using segmentation to limit the damage if something goes wrong.

Step 2: Evaluate the Consequences of Potential Breaches

Doing a comprehensive risk assessment means evaluating how data breaches could affect your organization. Start by identifying your most important assets and using threat modeling to determine where attacks might come from. Then, focus on the biggest vulnerabilities and develop clear plans to address them. This approach helps you use your resources wisely by creating detailed plans that lay out specific actions, assign responsibilities, and set timelines for when things need to be done.

Step 3: Deploy Enhanced Security Protocols

Encryption is key to keeping your data safe, whether it’s stored on servers or being transmitted over networks. For data at rest, like information on servers and databases, make sure to use strong encryption methods such as AES-256. For data in transit, encrypt the information being sent over networks with protocols like Transport Layer Security (TLS) to prevent anyone from intercepting or eavesdropping on it.

To further protect your data, set up strict access controls, like the Zero-Trust model, so only authorized people can access sensitive information. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for accessing critical systems—this adds an extra layer of security beyond just passwords. Also, implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure employees only have access to the information they need for their roles. And don’t forget to regularly review and update access permissions as roles and responsibilities change.

Navigating HIPAA Compliance: A Foundation for Protecting Patient Data

For healthcare organizations, staying compliant with HIPAA is essential to safeguard patient data. Key HIPAA rules include the Privacy Rule to protect personal health information, the Security Rule for electronic data, and the Breach Notification Rule, which mandates notifying individuals about breaches. To stay on track, organizations should regularly assess risks, put safeguards in place, train their staff, and keep strong policies up-to-date. Regular security audits are also vital to spot vulnerabilities and ensure ongoing compliance.

Healthcare organizations can significantly reduce the costly impact of data breaches, particularly those resulting from sophisticated cyberattacks,  by checking potential IT infrastructure weaknesses, conducting comprehensive risk assessments, using data security protocols, and following the latest HIPAA rules. I believe safeguarding patient data is not just a regulatory requirement but a crucial aspect of building trust and ensuring the integrity of healthcare systems in this digital age.