Achieving Better Business & Health Outcomes with Cybersecurity Improvements

Respond Effectively To Growing Trends

Cybersecurity threats – especially phishing, data breaches, and ransomware attacks – now impact every type of business, regardless of size or industry. Organizations can no longer view cybersecurity as an afterthought. It must be an integrated, fundamental aspect of day-to-day operations. For companies in the business of healthcare, the risks and consequences of cybersecurity disruptions are significantly higher. To protect both patients’ safety and business continuity, critical attention must be focused on infrastructure and operational security. In recent years, two trends have emerged that are particularly jarring to healthcare businesses,including hospitals, private medical and dental practices, and senior living facilities:

• Increasing acquisitions of healthcare businesses by private equity (PE) firms.
• Increasing numbers of data breaches and ransomware attacks on healthcare businesses.

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This article does not examine the cause and effect relationship between these two trends, which has already been well presented in numerous expert articles. Instead, the discussion that follows will focus on how these two industries – healthcare and PE – can better plan, prepare, and implement steps for protecting against cybersecurity threats to their businesses.

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Respond Effectively To Growing Trends

Healthcare data is a prime target for hackers.

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50x More Valuable

Stolen healthcare data sells for a higher price than the next “best” stolen data.

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3x More in 3 Years

The number of individuals impacted by healthcare industry data breaches is rapidly increasing.

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$4.5M Ransom

The average ransom demand is significantly higher for attacks on healthcare businesses.

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Be Better Motivated Than The Hackers

Hackers and cybersecurity threats cannot be eliminated; the problem is here to stay. The solution, then, becomes effective, ongoing assessment of risk and implementation of threat-aware cybersecurity processes across a fortified network infrastructure. Businesses of all kinds should be continually improving their security readiness across networks, devices, and sites. However, for the healthcare industry – and for the private equity firms investing in healthcare – the threat is uniquely dangerous and must be confronted intentionally and with a clear view to the future. As recent incidents have demonstrated, healthcare businesses – especially those acquired by PE firms – are a top target for hackers and nation-state bad actors. The reason is simple: Stolen healthcare data yields the biggest financial and intelligence gains on the dark web. Criminals are highly motivated to achieve their goals of getting the highest payday from their work. In response, PE firms and healthcare provider organizations must be doubly motivated to thwart these digital threats, since the consequences of a data breach or ransomware attack upend not just business operations but patient health and safety, too.

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Choose Impactful Improvements

With these higher stakes, healthcare organizations and PE firms carry a heavier burden of responsibility. These organizations need to incorporate secure network infrastructure, cybersecurity expertise, ongoing risk assessments, system monitoring, and effective detection and response processes in order to safeguard their patients’ health records and to prevent severe data breaches. To effectively prevent healthcare data theft and ransomware attacks requires a combination of robust network infrastructure, advanced cybersecurity practices, and user awareness. Businesses should consider utilizing proven security expertise, tools, and processes to achieve these goals, including improvements such as the following:

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Cybersecurity Strategies

• Regular updates and patches of applications, devices, software, and network systems
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Managed detection and response (MDR)
• Incident response plans
• Outsourced cybersecurity expertise available 24/7

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Secure Network Solutions

• Network segmentation to isolate and limit access to sensitive data
• Secure wifi utilizing separate networks for guests, devices, and critical systems
• Zero-trust architecture for strict access control across all users and devices
• Software-defined networking solutions like SD-WAN and managed SD-WAN
• Integrated security and network solutions like SASE and managed SASE

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Organizational Awareness

• Physical access controls including badges and bio-identification
• Training to educate employees on how to identify and avoid risks from social engineering and phishing.
• Higher security training, protocols, and clearance for employees having higher security privileges and access to sensitive data

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Implementing a combination of improvements to network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and organizational awareness builds a multi-layered defense system, which can lower the risk of data theft and ransomware attacks in healthcare environments. By fortifying networks and devices with expanded cybersecurity practices, businesses can prevent hackers and network intruders from stealing HIPAA-protected personal data and launching ransomware attacks.

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Consider Managed Solutions

For many healthcare organizations, choosing a managed solution for cybersecurity and network infrastructure delivers better results. Managed solution providers are uniquely positioned to provide threat-awareness expertise and tools, 24/7 NOC & SOC, system monitoring, and next-generation connectivity solutions (like managed SASE and managed SD- WAN). Organizations can achieve significant cost savings and greater business efficiency by choosing a managed provider to handle the sourcing, installation, upgrades, support, and billing for their technology services. Additionally, managed cybersecurity solutions deliver 24/7 expertise and ongoing threat detection and response, which can reduce the burden on busy, in-house IT teams. A reputable managed services provider delivers leading connectivity and cybersecurity solutions that help healthcare businesses and PE firms alike achieve streamlined business continuity and optimized patient safety.