Before the coronavirus outbreak, the health sector was already one of the most likely sectors to be attacked. The sector pays the highest cost for detecting, responding to and dealing with the consequences of a data breach.
Now, in the midst of a pandemic, the healthcare sector is more vulnerable than ever and cybercriminals are probably laying the groundwork for major healthcare cyberattacks.
Cyber threats seen in strategic health areas
In recent years, especially in the recent Covid-19 period, there has been a rapid increase in social engineering attacks, including phishing, where cybercriminals appear as a trusted source and trick healthcare workers into revealing their credentials that they are using in healthcare systems during the coronavirus crisis.
While the health system has security tools to prevent cyber attacks on the organization, home computers may not have the same protections. In addition, cybercriminals are setting up legitimate websites about the coronavirus outbreak to trick people into visiting them and, without their knowledge, downloading malware.
While health system security tools block malicious websites, doctors may not have the same types of protection at home, where home computers are used.
The threat landscape has increased dramatically as controls have been relaxed to allow doctors to work and treat patients remotely. This threat landscape has grown to include a doctor's home network, which offers cybercriminals greater opportunities to gain access to a healthcare facility.
As cyberattacks take advantage of this opportunity, it is essential that healthcare system security teams mobilize and that healthcare CIOs and CISOs have a plan in place in case their healthcare system is breached.
Preparing for cyber attacks
There are some essential steps that health security teams can take to ensure that health and administrative professionals working from home do so safely.
The first step is fundamentally to ensure that doctors have adequate virtual private networks (VPNs) and that they are configured correctly. A VPN creates secure connectivity between a device that could be on a less secure network and the healthcare system's network.
Secondly, security teams must ensure that these computers have adequate protection, often referred to as endpoint security. Endpoint security ensures that devices meet certain security criteria before they can connect to the hospital network.
The next step is to establish a plan so that when a health system is breached or hit with ransomware, it knows how to respond. The plan should include how to manage a breach in light of the pandemic, when the organization's leaders are likely to be working from home.
If a healthcare institution is hit by ransomware, how will its administrators process it all? What do you do when you can't get everyone in the room to make decisions? Keeping plans up to date is a fundamental step.
What is an example of good cybersecurity in healthcare?
Basically, this falls into two categories: what the healthcare institution does before the breach occurs and what it does after the breach occurs. Before the breach, it's about trying to prevent it from happening. And the questions that any CEO can ask the CISO are:
- Do we have terminal protection in place?
- Have we segmented our network?
- And do we have strong identity and access protection, in particular two-factor authentication?
Most hospital systems fail to answer these three questions positively, even though they are basic protection fundamentals. There is an equally important set of things that the medical organization must do after the breach. The CEO can ask the CISO:
- What are our plans if we are violated?
- Have they been practiced?
- Have we tested them?
- Are they comprehensive?
Remember that the IT team can't fix every vulnerability, so one of the most important things the organization can do is implement these plans when something happens, and unfortunately this is inevitable.
You, as the person in charge, must maintain the resilience of the system, continue to serve patients and keep things moving forward. However, many healthcare institutions don't have plans in place. If they do, they have never been tested.
Conversys can help your company reduce the risks and impacts of this global crisis. Contact our experts now and find out about Aruba Networks' security, network management and connectivity solutions. We are on hand to help you overcome this challenge.
About Conversys
Conversys IT Solutions is a provider of Information and Communication Technology services and solutions operating throughout Brazil.
With a highly qualified technical and commercial team and a network of partners that includes the main global technology manufacturers, Conversys IT Solutions is able to deliver customized IT and Telecom Infrastructure solutions to clients.
We invest in our employees and partners and strive for a long-lasting relationship with our clients, because we believe that this is how we gain the skills and knowledge we need to innovate and generate value for the businesses in which we operate.
About Aruba
ARUBA, a Hewlett Parkard Enterprise company, is redefining the smart grid with mobility and IoT solutions for organizations of all sizes globally.
Offering IT solutions that empower organizations to serve the Mobile Generation - mobile-savvy users who rely on cloud-based applications for all aspects of their work and personal lives - and to harness the power of insights to transform business processes. With infrastructure services offered as private or public cloud software, Aruba offers secure connectivity for mobility and IoT enabling IT professionals to create networks that keep pace with change.
