Burnt Orange Solutions IT Tip: Healthcare Provider Data Security
Our Trusted Saskatoon IT professionals at Burnt Orange Solutions promise to have a one-hour response time for all your IT support needs. Honesty and respect are important to us. We pride themselves on ensuring our clients understand their IT concerns by providing a straightforward and reliable solution with exceptional service. In our latest IT Tip, owner of Burnt Orange Solutions Gareth McKee discusses Healthcare Provider Data Security providers.
Does Healthcare Providers Data Security Need Improvement ?
The short answer is yes, but the reasons are a little more complicated.
Unlike most business which gets caught by a piece of malware randomly, the healthcare industry is actively under attack by the criminal gangs. Why? Because they know that a medical service provider is more likely to pay compared to most other companies.
Data from IBM has shown that 20% of organizations have recently paid more than $40,000 USD and 25% between $20,000-$40,000 USD to regain access to their data. Note that after paying, a high number do not receive a decryption key and have to recover in a more traditional manner – that is if they have a good backup procedure.
In the event of an infection, the healthcare industry is one of the unfortunate ones which would need to report this to the government and clients. It is also highly likely that it would hit the news as services were disrupted, further impacting the provider’s reputation.
Regulations REQUIRE Minimum Security Standards for Healthcare Providers
HIPAA and PIPEDA also state what protections must be in place for all organizations who deal with healthcare records. HIPA states that the following must be in place at the minimum:
- Business grade antivirus and security software,
- Server and PC patches and software upgrades must be managed and installed regularly,
- System audits must be regularly completed to ensure the security of the patient data,
- Review of access to data must be monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure only those who need to know have access,
- Web protection must be in place to help ensure the protection of data,
- Wireless networks must be secure with the latest technology,
- Backups must be completed regularly and TESTED,
- Generic emails ie Hotmail, Gmail, Sasktel.net are not to be used,
- Data is not to leave Canada
Those that choose not to take these regulations seriously risk receiving heavy fines and possibly even license revocation.
Burnt Orange Solutions is Ready to Help Healthcare providers In Saskatoon and area
If you’re ready to have peace of mind regarding your patient’s data security, contact the data and network security experts at Burnt Orange Solutions.
Burnt Orange IT Solutions Saskatoon – IT Products & Services:
- Managed Networks
- Backup and Recovery
- Data and Network Security
- Hosted Services
- Telephone Systems
- Secure WiFi Networks
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