HIPAA eCommerce

Healthcare IT Security: Protecting Patients and Your Business

Published  |  6 min read
Key Takeaways
  • Healthcare information security is the practice of protecting data related to healthcare, such as patient records and billing details. It involves safeguarding this sensitive information from unauthorized access, either by malicious third parties or internal employees with malicious intent.
  • In order to achieve proper security, organizations must put in place a number of measures such as strong password management policies, encryption technology, multi-factor authentication, secure backups, and regular network scans.
  • Training staff on proper security protocols and responding quickly to any breaches are essential in maintaining a secure environment.
  • Protecting healthcare information can include eCommerce security, whether patients are paying bills or ordering prescriptions.
ECommerce security protect payment information as well as healthcare information.

Healthcare IT security is an increasingly important component of patient safety and data privacy. As the healthcare industry shifts more and more to digital systems, the need for secure data protocols is becoming even more urgent.

Healthcare providers must ensure that their IT networks are protected from potential cyber threats, as well as ensure all staff members are properly trained to handle sensitive data in a secure manner. There are several steps that can be taken to ensure healthcare security, so let's take a look at what you can do to stay HIPAA compliant.

Medical devices must also adhere to medical security standards.

What Is Healthcare IT Security Protecting Against?

Healthcare IT security is designed to protect against a wide range of threats, such as unauthorized access and data breaches, malicious attacks like ransomware or malware, phishing scams, insider threats, and more.

But where are these threats coming from, and what measures can be put in place to reduce risk associated with transferring and storing healthcare data? Here are three common reasons electronic protected health information (ePHI) is targeted.

Black Market Customer Data

A hacker attack involves criminals stealing personal information from a healthcare organization, such as patient records or PHI, and then selling it on the dark web for financial gain. This stolen data can be used to commit identity theft, insurance fraud, and other kinds of financial crimes against an organization's patients. Medical data is some of the most high-value data on the black market, largely due to the ability to get prescriptions for narcotics.

To protect against this type of attack, healthcare organizations should have robust security measures in place that include firewalls and antivirus software, user education and monitoring, secure backups, encryption technologies, and multi-factor authentication.

Cyber Threats Like Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware is a malicious attack that uses encryption to lock access to data and files. This type of attack can be particularly damaging for healthcare organizations, as it can cause them to completely lose access to PHI and other vital patient information.

It's important that healthcare organizations are aware of ransomware attacks and have robust measures in place to protect against them. If an organization does suffer from a ransomware attack, it should make sure that they are prepared with a plan for how to deal with the issue quickly and efficiently in order to minimize any damage caused by the attack.

A SQL database must protect against malicious software.

Curious Employees

Unfortunately, curious employees can be one of the biggest threats to healthcare organizations when it comes to protecting ePHI and other patient records. Although some access to ePHI may be necessary for certain employees in order to do their jobs—such as nurses or doctors accessing patient information in order to provide care—sometimes employees will inappropriately snoop or access information that is not relevant to their job duties.

This type of activity can lead to a data breach if the appropriate measures are not in place. In order to prevent this from happening, healthcare organizations should have policies in place regarding employee access that clearly define what types of information and records an employee is allowed to view, investigate any access that is outside of those parameters, and educate staff on their responsibilities when it comes to protecting patient privacy.

Financial Data Theft

Your clients aren't just trusting you with their health information. You're also tasked with protecting the financial data they provide.

To do this, you'll need eCommerce security that protects financial information like credit cards, debit cards, or check numbers. Many of the security controls you put in place for healthcare data will also protect financial data, but you must also put PCI DSS security in place to ensure credit card information is safe.

ECommerce security involves PCI DSS compliance to protect against cyber-attacks.

Healthcare Organizations Steps to Data Security

Now that you know the reasons healthcare data is in danger, it's important to discuss some of the most important steps you can take to ensure patient ePHI stays safe and secure. You should take steps to ensure all of the following are addressed.

Implement Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication

Implementing strong passwords and multi-factor authentication is an essential step for ensuring healthcare privacy. It is important to implement password policies that require users to create passwords with at least eight characters or more, containing a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should also be utilized when possible, as it provides an extra layer of authentication and access control. MFA requires users to present two or more pieces of evidence (e.g., password + fingerprint scan + voice recognition) before gaining access to the system. Such measures can greatly reduce the chances of unauthorized access by those attempting to maliciously intrude into the system.

Users should not use the same password to reduce cyber-risk.

Keep Hardware and Software Up To Date

Keeping hardware and software up to date is an important component of upholding HIPAA compliance. Outdated systems can be vulnerable to cyberattacks, which may lead to unauthorized access to protected health information (PHI).

As such, healthcare providers should ensure that all hardware and software used in their networks are regularly updated with the latest security patches. It's also important for healthcare IT staff to monitor system logs regularly for any suspicious activity or unauthorized access attempts. Such proactive measures can help protect PHI from potential data breaches and maintain HIPAA compliance.

Legacy systems must be kept up to date to prevent cyber-attacks.

Utilize SSL/TLS Encryption

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption are essential tools for healthcare providers to uphold HIPAA compliance. SSL/TLS encryption creates a secure link between two systems, allowing data to be transmitted securely over the internet. This ensures that any PHI sent via a HIPAA-compliant website is encrypted and protected from malicious actors.

Businesses in the healthcare sector must verify the identity of their partners before establishing an encrypted connection in order to ensure a secure data exchange. They should also develop routinely scheduled tests on their networks to ensure all data is properly encrypted at all times.

SSL/TLS can precent malware code from stealing credit card information.

Install Firewalls and Virus Scanners

Firewalls and virus scanners are essential components of upholding HIPAA compliance. Firewalls act as a barrier between malicious actors and PHI, preventing them from gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data. Virus scanners are important for detecting and eliminating any potential viruses or malware that may be used to gain access to PHI.

Healthcare organizations should regularly update their firewalls and virus scanners in order to keep their networks secure from hackers. IT staff must also ensure that all users connected to the network only have access to relevant information for their job functions in order to further protect PHI from unauthorized access.

ECommerce sites must inplement cyber resilience to protect against fraudulent activity.

Implement User Monitoring

User monitoring is an essential component of upholding HIPAA compliance in healthcare systems. IT staff should monitor user activity on their networks to detect any unauthorized activity and ensure that PHI is not being accessed without a legitimate need.

User monitoring should also include logging of any logins and session lengths, as well as tracking users' access privileges for different areas of the network. This helps to prevent malicious actors from gaining access to PHI and also helps those in the healthcare sector identify any suspicious behavior or activities in a timely manner.

This kind of monitoring should be regularly reviewed to ensure that it is effective in maintaining security standards and upholding HIPAA compliance.

ECommerce security involves improving cyber-resilience.

Secure Mobile Device Usage

Mobile devices and medical data security are essential to upholding HIPAA compliance. Mobile devices are increasingly being used to access PHI, which can present a risk of unauthorized access if not protected properly. Healthcare organizations should ensure that any mobile device used to access PHI has a secure encryption and other safeguards in place, such as multi-factor authentication, to prevent the potential of data breaches.

Medical data security should incorporate secure technologies such as firewalls and virus scanners in order to protect PHI from malicious actors. Healthcare organizations must also be aware of the threats posed by mobile devices, including malware infections, unsecured Wi-Fi networks, phishing attacks, and more, and ensure that users are educated about how to properly protect their devices from such threats.

Mobile devices storing data must maintain healthcare industry standards.

Clarity Ventures and Your Healthcare Security

By taking these proactive measures, healthcare providers can protect their staff, patients, and systems from being vulnerable to cyberattacks. It's also vitally important for healthcare providers to create a culture of security within their organizations by educating employees about best practices and risk management strategies.

Clarity Ventures can help make this happen. We are experts at securing data at multiple points, including HIPAA-compliant websites and patient/doctor portals.

Get in touch for a complimentary discovery session, a no-pressure meeting where we'll help you create a plan for your healthcare security. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Clarity Ventures can provide your eCommerce site with cyber resilience.

FAQ

 

Yes. In order to ensure that patient information and records are kept secure, those in the healthcare sector should have robust security measures in place such as firewalls and antivirus software, user education and monitoring, secure backups, encryption technologies, and multi-factor authentication.

Also, organizations should have policies in place for how to handle any potential breaches that may occur and have experienced staff ready to help manage the situation if it does arise.

 

Security is extremely important in healthcare because the information contained within the systems—such as patient medical records, billing information, and insurance details—are very sensitive and must be kept private. A data breach of this type of information can lead to significant financial losses for healthcare organizations and even more importantly, put patients’ privacy at risk.

 

Healthcare security can be improved by implementing strong password management policies, using encryption technology to protect data, utilizing multi-factor authentication for accessing systems, creating secure backups of patient information and records, running regular network scans and vulnerability assessments, training staff on proper security protocols, and responding quickly to any potential breaches.

Healthcare organizations should also have procedures in place for monitoring their systems for any potential threats or suspicious activities. By taking these steps, healthcare organizations can ensure that their systems are secure and their patient data is protected from unauthorized access.

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Stephen Beer is a Content Writer at Clarity Ventures and has written about various tech industries for nearly a decade. He is determined to demystify HIPAA, integration, enterpise SEO, and eCommerce with easy-to-read, easy-to-understand articles to help businesses make the best decisions.