Why cybersecurity training is essential to protect your medical practice

Privacy is a major concern for individuals across the digital world, but this is especially true for patients and their protected health information (PHI), which is very expensive on the dark web. Unfortunately, the reality is that cyberattacks on healthcare networks have increased exponentially in recent years, putting highly sensitive patient information at risk. Health IT can help by strengthening security measures, and organizations can provide up-to-date cybersecurity training to staff.

Here are some of the fundamentals of cybersecurity and best practices to follow:

Organize healthcare cybersecurity training

Human error or negligence can have serious and costly consequences for healthcare facilities. Cybersecurity training provides healthcare personnel with the information they need to make informed decisions and exercise care when handling patient data. In particular, effective cybersecurity training should help employees recognize and stop attacks before they cause damage. A good place to start is to consult with a reputable cybersecurity vendor who will work with you to tailor a cybersecurity and employee training program to protect your data.

Another reason cybersecurity training is vital is that it is mandated by HIPAA. Specifically, the HIPAA Privacy Rule contains a provision requiring a vendor to “educate all of its personnel on policies and procedures relating to PHI”, and the HIPAA Security Rule includes a similar requirement for a vendor to “implement implements a security awareness and training program for all its personnel (including management).With this training in place and repeated often, employees are better equipped to recognize situations where the use of RPS warrants special safeguards, such as the use of HIPAA Compliant Email or role-based access controls.

In addition to recognizing threats, employees should also be trained on the organization’s data incident reporting protocol when an employee’s device is infected with a virus or malfunctions. Warning signs of such problems can include a slow running machine, unexplained errors, changes in computer operation, etc. They need to understand how to identify a genuine warning message or alert and promptly report these incidents to IT staff.

Stay up to date on HIPAA privacy and security rules

Beyond the previously mentioned training requirements, HIPAA privacy and security rules include a wide range of provisions to help protect patient data.

The HIPAA Security Rule ensures the security of electronic health information created, used, and maintained by Covered Entities, i.e., organizations subject to HIPAA. In the HIPAA Security Rule, policies and procedures are established for how protected health information should be managed from an administrative, physical, and technical perspective.

In accordance with the confidentiality rule, the information cannot be used or shared without the patient’s authorization. According to the HIPAA privacy rule, personal health information, including medical records, insurance information, and other sensitive data, must be protected.

These rules have seen a number of updates since they were first added to HIPAA in 2000 (privacy rule) and 2003 (security rule), including the recent Notification of enforcement discretion for telehealth, which was enacted during the pandemic to give providers more flexibility in using remote communication tools for telehealth.

It is important for healthcare providers and staff to stay current with HIPAA regulations and rules as part of their cybersecurity training.

Use strong passwords

Passwords can be an easy target for bad actors to exploit. One of the most serious threats to business security is a weak password. Organizations such as the National Institute for Standards in Technology (NIST) regularly publish and update guidelines for recommended passwords. The latest NIST recommendations* include:

• Password length is more important than password complexity.
• Don’t force regular password resets.
• Implement 2-factor authentication, which requires an additional form of identification, such as access to an email account, to authenticate a user.
• Use a password manager, which encourages employees to choose stronger passwords

Beware of unknown emails

One of the most common ways hackers use to gain access to a company’s network is through email phishing attacks, also known as spoofing or spoofing. Phishing is a malicious attempt to trick recipients into giving up personal and online account information in order to access and exploit more valuable and sensitive systems.

In healthcare practices, display name spoofing – a targeted phishing attack where the display name of an email is changed to make a message appear to be from a source reliable – is an attack strategy frequently used by malicious actors. Although there is technology specifically designed to fight against display name spoofing, when it comes to training, it’s important that employees understand the who, what, where, when and why of every email they receive. Specifically:

• Never blindly click on an attachment or link.
• Beware of messages that seem too good to be true or too urgent.
• Hover over the display name to see the sender’s email address.
• Verify not only the email address, but all email header information.
• If you’re using a mobile device and aren’t sure about a message, open it on a computer as well.
• If you suspect an email, contact the sender another way.

The best defense

The best defense is often a good offense and being prepared and educated about cybersecurity threats is of utmost importance to healthcare practices. The combination of strong IT safeguards, along with cybersecurity-aware staff, can go a long way in running your practice in a safe and secure manner.

Shawn Dickerson is Vice President of Marketing for Pauboxa leader in HIPAA-compliant messaging and marketing solutions for healthcare organizations.