In a world where technology evolves faster than we can say "cybersecurity," one might wonder if the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is still relevant. Surprisingly, it's not just relevant; it's an unsung guardian of our healthcare data. Compliance with HIPAA is essential for healthcare organizations...
Tag: network security
How health systems can reduce their attack surface with VTM
What is attack surface management?Think of your attack surface as a fortress with multiple entry points. Each entry point represents a system or network weakness that could potentially be breached by an intruder.These weaknesses, like outdated patches, misconfigurations, and traditional vulnerabilities, serve as open doors or unguarded walls that can...
Single sign-on vs multi-factor authentication: Do you know the difference?
A disheartening reality is that cyberattacks targeting healthcare and other critical industries are on the rise, making it more important than ever for organizations to implement thorough security measures. This is where single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) come in. By combining these tools, healthcare organizations can protect themselves...
Should You Build or Buy SOC Operations? Partnering with an MSSP
Every organization has unique cyber security risks. You can protect your data from external threats by assessing these risks and creating a security plan. Generally, this process involves either building an internal Security Operations Center (SOC) or partnering with a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP). What Factors Are Involved with...
Is electronic protected health information (ePHI) getting outside your healthcare organization?
Under HIPAA regulations, health information or data that can be used to identify an individual patient is categorized as protected health information (PHI) and must undergo a wide range of practices explicitly designed to protect patient confidentiality. Covered entities must implement processes and controls to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability...
5 reasons to conduct yearly penetration testing
When protecting your network from external threats, you sometimes need to think like a hacker. You can better prevent cyber attacks by understanding how perpetrators could potentially access sensitive data. Therefore, penetration testing should be a part of your yearly cybersecurity plan. What is penetration testing? Penetration testing is one...
HIPAA Changes Regarding COVID-19: What Healthcare Organizations Should Know
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) have issued a Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions and Penalties. While HIPAA regulations and protected health information (PHI) protections are still in place, it’s important that healthcare facilities understand...
Benefits of Continuous HIPAA Analysis
Within the HIPAA Security Rule Administrative Safeguards, requirements include that covered entities “implement policies and procedures to prevent, detect, contain and correct security violations.” This standard requires both Risk Analysis and Risk Management which assist an organization's management in developing protections for confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ePHI within the...
Five Major Cybersecurity Threats to Your System – And How To Protect Against Them
Healthcare facilities continue to combat the threat of cyber attacks within their digital landscapes, forcing IT departments across the globe to continuously adjust their lines of defense against a network security compromise or data breach. The increasing complexity and sophistication of cybercriminal activities mean healthcare organizations must remain vigilant against...
Healthcare Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM): An Introduction to Capabilities
As healthcare organizations continue to embrace and rely on a diverse range of technologies to both manage and treat patients, their internal IT and cybersecurity environments continue to become more complex and challenge situational awareness. This rampant surge of innovation utilization is unlikely to change over the next several years...
Designating Number of Connected Medical Devices
Connected medical devices are being used in various capacities to resolve several issues currently plaguing the healthcare industry on a global scale. Once considered peripheral resources, due to new science and innovation, medical devices and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have now become integrated into the very fabric of most...
How to Recover From a Healthcare Data Breach
Despite the healthcare industry's continuous efforts to minimize cybercriminal activity, cyber attacks continue to make their tumultuous presence known throughout the industry. As a result, medical facilities, providers, and payers have prioritized protecting their digital infrastructure against a data breach. Healthcare organizations are consistently implementing preventative measures such as update...
How A Virtual Information Security Program Revolutionizes Cybersecurity in Your Organization
Despite continuously integrating innovative cybersecurity upgrades and enhancements, the healthcare industry remains a primary target for cyber attacks and data breaches for a myriad of reasons. A medical facility's technology environment contains employee and provider information, financial data, as well as a full spectrum of highly sensitive patient information, all...
How to Conduct an Inventory of Your Medical Devices to Plan for Confident Cybersecurity
Connected medical devices have become an integral part of the patient experience here in the United States. Recent statistics demonstrate that a single hospital room may have, on average, 15-20 medical devices in it, many of them connecting directly into the healthcare facility's IT infrastructure. Beyond the number in each...
HIPAA and Cybersecurity Applied to Medical Devices
Medical devices are increasingly being connected to hospital networks, the internet, patient home networks, and to other medical devices. This broad sharing of information allows physicians to respond to patient needs more quickly and tailor treatment plans based on outputs from medical devices in use. However, these capabilities also increase...
Healthcare Cybersecurity Tips for Apps and Mobile Devices
Every healthcare organization, regardless of the devices used, faces the risk of cybersecurity attacks. However, the use of mobile devices and apps can bring the risk of a cyber-attack to another level. Apps and mobile devices are highly effective, affordable, and convenient ways for medical facilities to manage a diverse...
6 Recommendations for Taking Your Healthcare Information Management Systems from Compliance to Confidence
Cyber attacks are a regular occurrence throughout the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, not only are data nad network security compromises common, they are also costly. A cyberattack can cost the organization $1.4 million in recovery expenses alone on average, including loss of productivity, service disruption, and irreparable reputation damage for medical...
Benefits of a Web Application Firewall for Your Healthcare Organization
Application attacks are on the rise in healthcare organizations across the country. The high demand from both patients and staff to have easy access to records and scheduling has resulted in a growing number of web applications being offered to users. However, as with any technology surge, the increase in...
Maintaining Strong IT Security When Using Medical Devices
Connected medical devices have been around, in various capacities, for the last several decades. However, the current advancements in technology, coupled with Internet of Things (IoT) innovation, has officially and effectively redefined the impact and reliance on these devices throughout the healthcare industry. Seen as an emerging technology and enabler...
Medical Device Security: How to Assess Your Organization’s Readiness in 2019
Medical devices have experienced a significant growth surge over the last several years. Recent statistics indicate that a single hospital room may hold as many as 15-20 devices at any given moment, proving their value as an integral part of the patient care experience. The latest generation of medical devices,...
Cybersecurity Alert: 3 Medical Devices that Might Put You at Risk in 2019
Medical devices are some of the most vital tools for healthcare organizations of every size and scope, impacting the performance (and public perception) of a facility. Practices throughout the country utilize an increasingly wide range of medical equipment to improve care levels as well as stand out as a market...
Health IT: Can You Stay Connected and Avoid Security Risks?
Every year, various advancements in technology make their way into the healthcare industry. From the Internet of Things [IoT] to telemedicine, all of these innovations are changing the way medical institutions deliver care across the world. While many significant benefits come from these modern healthcare innovations, staying connected at all...
Is Your Healthcare Organization in Danger of a Cybersecurity Breach?
Network security and cyber attacks continue to plague healthcare organizations of every size and scope across the US. A recently report,released by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), showed that over 15 million patient records were compromised in 2018 – a number that's only expected to grow with the surge...
Can You Find and Secure the Sensitive Information in Your Organization’s Network Infrastructure?
All healthcare organizations capture and store sensitive data sets within their IT networks that require extensive protection from unauthorized access or a cyber attack. Unfortunately, many organizations struggle with identifying and safeguarding this information simply because they don't know what qualifies as sensitive data and where such data is located...
Medical Device Security: A New Front In The Cybersecurity War
Medical devices play a vital role in every health organization’s overall performance as well as the quality of care they can provide to patients. Today's state-of-the-art devices deliver a wide range of benefits, including the opportunity for continuous monitoring, telemedicine, and data analytics. Despite the many advantages offered through these...
Five Things Your Healthcare Company Should Do After a Data Breach
Healthcare data breaches have been on the rise in recent years. Medical data is always a big target for cybercriminals as it is much more valuable than personal information alone. Many of these data breaches are considered an outside cyber attack – a lapse in cybersecurity due to a hacker...
Who (And What) Should Have Access to Your Network?
Preventing a data breach or network security lapse is a top priority for healthcare organizations worldwide. The very nature of the devices and data transmitted across every internal system, coupled with a typically (and often, alarmingly) low number of cybersecurity resources makes healthcare environments exceptionally vulnerable to a cyber attack....
A Security Checklist for Healthcare Organizations
Cyber attacks and data breaches are on the rise in virtually every industry that utilizes and stores sensitive information to power its operations. However, the healthcare vertical is often particularly vulnerable to a network security lapse, often finding their data loss prevention efforts powerless against the increasingly sophisticated and complex...
5 Threats to Your Healthcare Organization’s Cybersecurity Posture
No matter what the industry, virtually every business battles the constant threat of a cyber attack on various levels. However, for healthcare organizations, the highly sensitive nature of the information stored throughout their networks makes them a prime target for hackers across the globe. As cybersecurity threats within the vertical...
6 Considerations for HIPAA Compliant Penetration Testing
Strategic and results-driven penetration testing (also known as pen testing) helps healthcare enterprises maintain the highest levels of network security across their entire organization. Often referred to as "ethical hacking," a penetration test examines an organization’s digital enterprise vulnerabilities and assesses those vulnerabilities through the same methods that a real-world...
Fortified Health Security: Is Your Network Vulnerable To Intrusion?
Healthcare organizations across the country suffer from a myriad of network security issues that put their (and their patients') data at risk. Unfortunately, many healthcare administrators don't realize the scope of their cybersecurity vulnerabilities or just how at risk their organization is for a potential data breach – until it's...
5 Things Healthcare Companies Miss When Getting Ready for an Audit
Audit. The mere mention of the word can instantly stir mild to moderate panic throughout even the most diligent healthcare IT department. For a myriad of reasons, most healthcare organizations dread the idea of conducting industry mandated cybersecurity risk assessments. Compliance evaluations are time-consuming, disrupting normal corporate activities and potentially...
Do Your Security Policies Include Your Vendors?
Healthcare organizations recognize the vital urgency of maintaining uncompromised internal network security at all times. Under constant threat of a cyber attack, IT departments at hospitals and providers of every size prioritize cybersecurity practices, making proactive prevention and detection of a data breach a primary goal. What to Know About...
7 Things Every Healthcare CTO Should Consider When Planning a HIPAA Risk Analysis
The HIPAA Security Rule mandates that healthcare organizations must have the appropriate technical, administrative, and physical safeguards in place to protect the integrity, security, and confidentiality of electronically stored health data against a data breach or cyber attack. To remain compliant with HIPAA regulations, healthcare organizations must conduct an annual...
Healthcare IT: The Biggest Healthcare Spam Threats (And How to Avoid Them)
The practice of spam began innocently enough in 1978 (yes, really), when Gary Thuerk, a marketing associate at Digital Equipment Corporation sent a promotional mass-email to 400 recipients touting the arrival of the company's new T-series of VAX systems. The reaction was swift, fierce, and familiar: unadulterated annoyance. Today, the...
Healthcare IT: Your Essential Guide to Making Email More Secure
Yes, there are countless cybersecurity threats plaguing healthcare networks across the country at any given moment. However, recent reports suggest that many data breaches across any industry specifically occur due to poor email security practices within the company. A 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report indicates that as much as 66%...
Fortified Health Security: What Does It Mean to Be HITRUST-Certified
Healthcare providers across every specialty rely on high-performing technology to both treat and support their patients. Whether it's integrating a cloud-based CRM to automate back office functioning such as appointment scheduling or billing, or incorporating the latest, state-of-the-art connected medical devices into a treatment protocol, innovation is at the very...
How To Triage Your Healthcare IT Security Needs And Stay On Budget
In the healthcare industry, the word "triage" typically refers to a medical process that determines the order in which admitted patients receive treatment. In larger hospitals, triage protocol becomes particularly vital, as hundreds (and potentially even thousands) of patients pursue treatment and care daily. As patients are triaged, medical professionals...
Is Your Healthcare Organization HIPAA Compliant? Check Out Our Guide
For healthcare IT teams across the country, maintaining network security throughout an organization isn't just about keeping data safe – it's also about keeping their operations compliant. The medical industry's rapidly increasing reliance on cloud-based technology and connected medical devices to transmit critical patient data have made cybersecurity issues and...
Healthcare IT: How Often Are You Checking Your Network for Security Risks?
It's official. Healthcare data breaches and cyber attacks have already reared their ugly digital heads in 2019. A recently released HIPAA Journal report demonstrated that, despite a respectable dip in cyber attacks throughout December 2018, January data breach events at healthcare facilities across the country rose to above typical levels....
Human Capital Management: 3 Tips To Insulate Your Organization from the Turnover Epidemic
With IT talent shortages reaching record heights, the healthcare industry is under mounting pressure to not only hire high performing technology employees to manage its mission-critical network security and data loss prevention efforts, but also to retain these staff members once they've joined the team. Unfortunately, successfully retaining high-performing employees...
Fortified Health Security: What You’ll Discover in the 2019 Horizon Report on Connected Medical Devices and Risks
As a leader in healthcare cybersecurity, data loss prevention, and managed services, Fortified Health Security is dedicated to supporting our partners across multiple levels of service. In addition to our hands-on, customized cybersecurity solutions, we also develop and distribute a wide range of industry-relevant resources and materials to help support...
Fortified Health Security: How We Help Clients Leverage Rather than Tolerate Technology
As a leading Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), Fortified Health Security develops and implements full-scale security information and event management (SIEM) and network security solutions that protect both facility and patient intelligence. However, at Fortified Health Security, maintaining the highest levels of cybersecurity framework standards and best practices isn't enough....
Fortified Health Security: How We Onboard Clients for Lasting IT Security Success
At Fortified Health Security, we understand that the first 90 days of engagement with a new client plays a pivotal role in the overall success of our partnership. Make no mistake: as cybersecurity specialists, we prioritize every project phase. We make it our mission to boost data loss prevention and...
Healthcare IT: Can You Accurately Assess Your Healthcare Tech Needs In-House?
The technology needs of any healthcare organization are constantly changing, forcing administrators to continuously reevaluate whether current systems fully support both patient and process needs. There are a myriad of reasons for this. For some healthcare organizations, it's simply a matter of updating obsolete programs to a more advanced and...
Partnering With An IT Security Firm To Solve The #1 HR Problem: Turnover
As the IT Security candidate shortage in the medical industry continues to grow, healthcare administrators find themselves faced with a second staffing crisis: turnover. As companies in every vertical compete for the same dwindling talent pool, the healthcare segment has had to navigate an upswing in turnover amongst their cybersecurity...
Our Take -The Top 5 Takeaways from HIMSS19
At Fortified Health Security, we know the best way to help our healthcare clients prevent a cyber attack is to stay on top of the latest industry trends and threats in network security and data loss prevention. The annual HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition helps us do just that. As...
Healthcare IT: How Interoperability Makes Penetration Testing Even More Important
Healthcare organizations within every medical specialty continue to expand, making interoperability a top priority for physicians, providers, and patients. As healthcare facilities' IT systems and digital infrastructures grow, interoperability enables seamless care and coverage, both on an individual and community level. As a result, providers, administrators, and stakeholders find themselves...
Human Capital Management: The Outlook for Retaining Top Talent in 2019
Recent reports have confirmed what healthcare directors and HR specialists have already recognized and painfully experienced firsthand throughout 2018: last year’s cybersecurity job market was rife with hiring gaps, transitions, and disruptions. While the past several years have proven challenging for healthcare organizations looking to staff up their internal network...
How Are IT Risks Different For A Company That Handles Protected Health Information?
As cybersecurity threats and attacks continue to evolve, hackers are consistently turning their attention to the United States healthcare industry. A 2017 report released by the Identity Theft Resource Center showed that, of the total number of data breaches tracked for the year by the organization, the Medical/Healthcare industry came...
HSCC Releases New Framework For Medical Device Security
At Fortified Health Security, we've seen firsthand how the many cybersecurity threats plaguing United States medical devices can impact healthcare facilities and organizations on a national scale. Yes, speed-of-light technology advances have transformed healthcare practices, treatments, and service delivery, exponentially increasing the quality of patient care across virtually every medical...
HIMSS19: What to Expect When Your Team Meets with Fortified Health Security. See us at Booths 2889 and 400-67
As a leading healthcare cybersecurity resource, Fortified Health Security makes staying on top of the latest industry trends and innovations a top priority. For us, attending relevant healthcare events and symposiums is about more than just finding new ways to network with both marketplace leaders and healthcare executives (although we...
Healthcare IT: Facing the Staffing Crisis through an Alternative Approach
IT security within the healthcare industry is currently facing a major staffing crisis. This cybersecurity talent shortage has delivered significant blows throughout virtually every vertical, but the healthcare sector has been hit especially hard. A 2017 report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services noted that the...
Why Working with an MSSP Is Smarter Than Building Your Own Cybersecurity Team
The landscape of cybersecurity is in constant flux. Hackers are continuously developing newer, smarter, and more sophisticated ways to infiltrate network security at companies on a global scale. For healthcare facilities, the increased threat of a cyber attack means ramping up security measures across the entire organization to protect the...
Healthcare IT: Is Your Network Safe and Secure for All Your Connected Medical Devices?
Technology enabled devices within the U.S. healthcare industry continue to grow at the speed-of-light. The emergence of IoT, telemedicine, e-clinical trials, and a myriad of other digital medical technologies are directly impacting how care is both delivered and received on a global basis. Great news, right? Yes and no. While...