Data Protection for the Healthcare Industry
June 16th, 2015
Data Protection for the Healthcare Industry
2014 was the year of mega breaches with over 1 billion records compromised (according the Breach Level Index). Healthcare was no exception and accounted for one quarter of all the breaches reported last year. Due to the highly sensitive information collected by healthcare providers, it is no surprise that these organizations are prime targets for malicious attacks. From medical records to insurance forms to prescription services, the healthcare industry has become a networked environment – allowing patient information to be shared and managed by a variety of parties and from a number of endpoints, each with their own level of security for protecting that information. Protecting the data within the healthcare industry becomes more challenging due to the continuous sharing of information among multiple resources, devices, and locations. Not only are healthcare organizations oftentimes mandated to protect this information from data breaches and fraud, but it is also imperative for the health of their practice that patients have confidence that their personal information remains private and secure. Cyber criminals see medical records as particularly valuable as they include not only names and addresses, but also employer, medical insurance and bank account/credit card information.
Threats to sensitive data have reached a critical point, with the sophistication and frequency of attacks escalating over the last several years. The Canadian healthcare industry experienced the pain of an unsecure breach last July, when a Canadian hospital was hacked and personal details of over 14 thousand patients were compromised and sold. Do not let your organization be a statistic, take the step needed to secure your most valuable assets – your patient data. Securing this information requires a layered and cohesive approach. To ensure patient privacy, secure patient records, medical images and applications, and reduce the cost and complexity of compliance, SafeNet/Gemalto recommends a solution comprised of multi-factor authentication technologies for verifying identities, encryption for protecting patient records and other sensitive data, hardware security modules or key managers for the ultimate secure storage of the encryption keys protecting patient records, and high-speed encryptors for the encryption of the data as it traverses the network. SafeNet/Gemalto believes in an effective implementation must consist of security solutions that work together to address the constantly evolving challenges facing healthcare organizations. With flexible, centralized solutions that provide complete information lifecycle protection, healthcare entities can align IT strategies with future business growth through an approach that is comprehensive intelligent, persistent, and extensible. To learn more about the current threat landscape and best practices to “Securing the Breach” download our Annual Brea
Data Protection for the Healthcare Industry
2014 was the year of mega breaches with over 1 billion records compromised (according the Breach Level Index). Healthcare was no exception and accounted for one quarter of all the breaches reported last year. Due to the highly sensitive information collected by healthcare providers, it is no surprise that these organizations are prime targets for malicious attacks. From medical records to insurance forms to prescription services, the healthcare industry has become a networked environment – allowing patient information to be shared and managed by a variety of parties and from a number of endpoints, each with their own level of security for protecting that information. Protecting the data within the healthcare industry becomes more challenging due to the continuous sharing of information among multiple resources, devices, and locations. Not only are healthcare organizations oftentimes mandated to protect this information from data breaches and fraud, but it is also imperative for the health of their practice that patients have confidence that their personal information remains private and secure. Cyber criminals see medical records as particularly valuable as they include not only names and addresses, but also employer, medical insurance and bank account/credit card information.
Threats to sensitive data have reached a critical point, with the sophistication and frequency of attacks escalating over the last several years. The Canadian healthcare industry experienced the pain of an unsecure breach last July, when a Canadian hospital was hacked and personal details of over 14 thousand patients were compromised and sold. Do not let your organization be a statistic, take the step needed to secure your most valuable assets – your patient data. Securing this information requires a layered and cohesive approach. To ensure patient privacy, secure patient records, medical images and applications, and reduce the cost and complexity of compliance, SafeNet/Gemalto recommends a solution comprised of multi-factor authentication technologies for verifying identities, encryption for protecting patient records and other sensitive data, hardware security modules or key managers for the ultimate secure storage of the encryption keys protecting patient records, and high-speed encryptors for the encryption of the data as it traverses the network. SafeNet/Gemalto believes in an effective implementation must consist of security solutions that work together to address the constantly evolving challenges facing healthcare organizations. With flexible, centralized solutions that provide complete information lifecycle protection, healthcare entities can align IT strategies with future business growth through an approach that is comprehensive intelligent, persistent, and extensible. To learn more about the current threat landscape and best practices to “Securing the Breach” download our Annual Brea
