Intelligent CIO LATAM Issue 03 | Page 68

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security

Cybersecurity in the health sector : a race for protection and prevention

Carlos Gómez , SonicWall , health , cybercrime , Cybersecurity , Sales Engineer for South America , SonicWall , tells us health organizations can confront cybercrime with the implementation of practices and policies that allow them to anticipate the worst scenarios in the face of a cyberattack .

As efforts for vaccination programs advance , cybercriminals continue to develop new strategies to make their attacks increasingly effective and profitable .

Proof of this is the growth of ransomware attacks ( information hijacking ), which reached a record number during 2020 with an increase of 62 % compared to the previous year .
Specifically , according to a recent SonicWall Threat Report , the number of healthcare ransomware attempts increased by 123 %, making it the focus of more targeted attacks .
Along with the ransomware attacks , the use of cryptocurrencies as an exchange rate for payment for hijacked data increased , thanks to the fact that it offers the facility to carry out transactions without leaving traces .
Added to this mix of threats are new breaches of critical patient data ( medical history , credit information , etc ) that affect both sides of the coin ; On the one hand , they put the reputation and resources of medical centers at risk by forcing them to pay ransoms to prevent the stolen information from being leaked and commercialized , and on the other , expose the privacy and valuable information of patients .
The complexity of the supply chain represents more potential access points for cybercriminals to wreak havoc . Whether it ’ s disrupting the shipping process , shutting down the huge freezers needed to keep vaccines cold , or hacking into supply chain systems , the result of malicious intrusions can drastically disrupt the entire distribution process , putting lives at risk .
Prevention and protection to face cybercrime
As medical centers do through their health prevention programs , organizations can confront cybercrime with the implementation of practices and policies that allow them to anticipate the worst scenarios in the face of a cyberattack . Some of these are :
1 . Raise awareness in your remote and on-site workforce : Better awareness will reduce the chances that staff will download suspicious documents or click on malicious links .
2 . Safely and efficiently connect your remote workers : Allow only the services and applications they need to open , implement policies and practices for the safe use of mobile devices and BYOD for the remote workforce .
3 . Avoid credential theft : Having strong passwords will reduce the chances that attacks will spread through your systems . Implement multi-factor authentication , today it is easy to use mobile applications with dynamic password managers and / or fingerprints .
4 . Update the security in servers , personal computers and laptops with modern and advanced prevention techniques : The traditional antivirus of your PC has evolved ostensibly towards a dynamic protection of threats without the need to have successive online updates to improve the security of your organization .
Remember that the principles of prevention and protection are not exclusive to the health industry , but can be applied to different areas , and as in the case of cybersecurity , prevention is better than cure . p
In recent months , the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain called ‘ Cold Chain ’, which is essential for transporting vaccines and delivering them in optimal conditions , has also turned out to be the focus of attacks .
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