Are You Prepared to Prevent These Four Active Security Threats to Your Health Network?

Prevent These Emerging Cybersecurity Threats by Outsourcing EHR Implementation and Optimization

Is your hospital protected from the latest cybersecurity threats? Learn what they are and how outsourcing EHR optimization to a managed IT services company can help.

Today’s healthcare administrators have a lot on their plates. One rising threat meriting a proactive approach? Cybersecurity. At the HIMSS Healthcare Security Forum held earlier this month in Boston, Greg Singleton, director of the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), highlighted four active threats challenging the private healthcare and public health sector. Here’s a closer look at these vulnerabilities, along with why using a managed IT company is a savvy solution.

Four Active Security Threats

HC3’s mission is to “support the defense of the healthcare and public health sector’s information technology infrastructure by strengthening coordination and information sharing within the sector and by cultivating cybersecurity resilience, regardless of organizations’ technical capacity.” According to Singleton, meanwhile, HC3 functions similar to a “neighborhood watch” with the aim of safeguarding the data security and technological integrity of healthcare organizations. In this capacity, HC3 is tracking the following active threats:

Virtual Private Network Vulnerabilities

Security researchers found vulnerabilities in enterprise-grade VPN services from several providers. While updates have since been released to mitigate the problem, unpatched systems mean some devices are still vulnerable to attack.

The Blues

Windows Services are impacted by three ongoing vulnerabilities: BlueKeep, DejaBlue, and EternalBlue. Worldwide, millions of connections currently remain unpatched.

Urgent/11

A multitude of real-time operating systems are affected by URGENT/11 vulnerabilities, which can impact routers, connected devices and other essential infrastructure. “These cybersecurity vulnerabilities may allow a remote user to take control of a medical device and change its function, cause a denial of service, or cause information leaks or logical flaws, which may prevent a device from functioning properly or at all," FDA officials said earlier this year of the threat.

PACS and DICOM Imaging Servers

Currently, millions of patient records and personal sensitive information hosted on approximately 200 open and exposed imaging systems and devices are at risk, and many hospitals aren’t even aware of the issue

The EHR Implementation Solution

The benefits of EHR systems are manifold, including providing accurate and complete information about patients at the point of care; quick access to patient medical records; helping providers effectively diagnose patients while reducing medical errors; improving patient and provider interaction and communication; enabling more reliable prescribing; improving documentation; and reducing costs.

But EHRs can also play a vital role when it comes to enhancing the privacy and security of patient data -- with proper controls and best practices in place, that is. Enter managed IT companies. Outsourcing your company’s IT network support and management ensures that your organization gains access to all of the advantages of EHR implementation while also implementing critical security strategies aimed at minimizing known risks as well as new ones as they emerge.

One additional benefit of outsourcing to a managed IT service? Not only will doing so allow your hospital or healthcare system to leverage the expertise and insight of specialists in this area, but it also frees up your physicians, administrators and other staff to focus on what they do best. This, in turn, can help prevent burnout while supporting productivity and employee retention.

While cybersecurity threats to healthcare organizations require top-down vigilance, you don’t have to do it alone. Managed IT services offer invaluable partnerships in helping hospitals stay ahead of the curves in order to protect their patients, organizational reputations, and bottom lines.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.