With 2014 looming, many organizations are reducing security budgets to prepare for the many costs associated with healthcare reform—leaving them vulnerable to costly cyber attacks.
With this in mind, IT solutions provider NJVC has released a three-part series of white papers for healthcare executives on cyber security to help them learn about the breadth of cyber vulnerabilities and better protect their critical and highly sensitive data assets.
The goal of this white paper series is to offer a playbook for assessing risk so healthcare IT organizations may implement the defence systems they need to protect patient data. According to the 2012 Verizon Industry Snapshot Report on Healthcare, 93 per cent of healthcare industry attacks originate from hacking and the introduction of malware.
“Healthcare IT leaders must strike a balance between being agile and responsive to stakeholders and managing the risk of compromised security with consistently shrinking budgets,” said Terri Schoenrock, author of one of the papers. “The high-wire act of leading in changing times is made more strenuous by the fast pace of change in the health IT systems that house patient data, and the growth in worldwide cyber attacks.”
“The evolution from paper to digital health records is a game changer for healthcare,” said Robert Michalsky, another author the second paper, titled Protecting Digital Health Information: What Is at Stake?” He added: “Cyber attackers, both external and internal, know where healthcare organizations’ vulnerabilities are. Healthcare organizations must view cyber security as a process, rather than a product, to protect valuable patient health data and prevent an expensive and embarrassing breach.”
Healthcare reform, cyber security, cyber attacks, security
