Three essential measures for safeguarding patient information

In the rapidly digitizing world of healthcare, the protection of sensitive patient data has become a paramount concern. Over the past two years, numerous data breaches have occurred in the healthcare industry, with firewalls proving largely ineffective against current hacking methods.

According to Paul German, VP EMEA at Certes Networks, the key to securing patient data lies in a strategic approach that assumes all networks and users are essentially untrusted. This approach requires consistent access policies across devices and networks.

The first step in this strategy is to create a single point of control for networked applications. By consolidating protection methods and access policies into a single platform, organizations can streamline their security measures, making them more effective.

Sensitive applications in healthcare should be isolated and controlled from end-to-end, with encryption used to segment application flow. This cryptographic segmentation must stay with the application flow from the server to the user's end-point devices.

In a hospital environment, security policies should be based on the specific needs of users (consultants, junior doctors, nurses) and the applications they access (patient records, results). This user- and application-specific approach, enabled by modern software-defined security, provides a more robust defence against potential breaches.

Easy-to-share digital data poses a significant risk of unprivileged access, which can lead to damaging data breaches. To prevent this, healthcare organizations should implement crypto-segmentation to build secure walls between user groups and the applications they access.

The recent cyberattack on Klinikum Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany, serves as a stark reminder of the threats facing healthcare institutions. While specific security improvement measures following the attack have not been widely detailed, such incidents typically prompt hospitals to enhance their cybersecurity protocols and infrastructure.

German's advice is clear: healthcare organizations need to act now to prevent breaches, as once past the firewall, hackers can move laterally to the most sensitive applications. With 87% of UK healthcare organizations putting patient data at risk, according to an unspecified source, the need for action is urgent.

Healthcare organizations need to update their security architecture to prevent data breaches. Firewalls alone are not enough to protect against current hacking methods. By adopting a strategic, user- and application-specific approach to security, healthcare providers can better safeguard the sensitive data they handle, ensuring the trust and confidence of their patients.