Cyber-Security Concepts to Protect Health Care Data

What is Cyber-Security?

Cyber Security refers to the technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, devices, apps, and data from any kind of cyber-attacks.

Cyber Security is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.

Cyber Security is also known as information technology (IT) security.

How Cyber-Security securing private Healthcare Data?

Protecting data in the healthcare industry is not that easy. Healthcare providers and their business associates must balance protecting patient privacy while delivering quality patient care and meeting the strict regulatory requirements set forth by HIPAA and other regulations, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Instead of using technologies, HIPAA requires covered entities to ensure that patient information is secure, accessible only by authorized persons, and used only for authorized purposes, but it’s up to each covered entity to determine what security measures to employ to achieve these objectives. As a result of increasing regulatory requirements for healthcare data protection, healthcare organizations that take a proactive approach to implementing best practices for healthcare security.

Some data protection measures for healthcare organizations are

• Educating Healthcare Staff
• Restricting Access to Data and Applications
• Implementing Data Usage Controls
• Logging and Monitoring Use
• Encrypting Data
• Securing Mobile Devices
• Modifying Connected Device Risks
• Conducting Regular Risk Assessments
• Utilizing Off-Site Data Backup

Tragically, healthcare institutions have become an increasingly large target for hackers in recent years, so it is now more important than ever to practice good cyber-security measures to ensure your data is secure.

Cyber Security Encryption is one of the most useful data protection methods for healthcare organizations. By encrypting data in transit and at rest, healthcare providers and business associates make it more difficult (ideally impossible) for attackers to decipher patient information even if they gain access to the data. HIPAA offers recommendations but doesn’t specifically require healthcare organizations to implement data encryption measures; instead, the rule leaves it up to healthcare providers and business associates to determine what encryption methods and other measures are necessary or appropriate given the organization’s workflow and other needs.

Maintaining effective cyber-security measures is even more crucial when you are responsible for sensitive private patient information. The consequences of failing to keep these confidential details secure can be severe, as the data is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) act.” To prevent this, ensure your security team restricts access to patient records, only allowing certain authorized staff members to access it. Always remove terminated employees from access and monitor access history by auditing the system to verify when and what records were accessed, and by whom.

Conclusion

Healthcare organizations that take data protection seriously should recognize that while HIPAA and other regulatory compliance initiatives are a good starting place for building a data protection program and avoiding costly penalties, efforts should go beyond compliance to ensure that sensitive data is protected against today’s threats.

References

HHMGlobal, C. (2020, April 29). Content Team HHMGlobal. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from https://www.hhmglobal.com/knowledge-bank/articles/top-cyber-security-tips-to-protect-your-health-care-data

Leffel, C. (2018, June 16). Healthcare Cybersecurity: 10 Tips for Keeping Private Health Data Secure. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from https://hitconsultant.net/2017/07/25/tips-private-health-data-secure/