A recent study by the Ponemon Institute found that the average total cost of a data breach in the healthcare industry is $2.1 million. Despite this, many healthcare businesses are still not doing enough to protect themselves from cyberattacks. So how can you tell if your business is investing enough in cybersecurity?
- Look at their budget. A good indicator of how much a business values cybersecurity is how much they are willing to invest in it. A business should be allocating at least 6% of their overall budget to cybersecurity defenses.
- Check their staff training. In order to stay ahead of ever-evolving attacks, it’s important that employees are regularly trained on the latest security measures. Training should include both technical and non-technical employees.
- See how they handle data breaches. If your business has a data breach, it should have a plan in place for how to handle it. This includes notifying patients and regulatory agencies, as well as taking steps to prevent future breaches.
- Review their incident response plan. In the event of a cyberattack, your business should have an incident response plan in place. This plan should include steps for assessing the damage, containment, eradication, and recovery.
- Check their security posture. One way to gauge how well your business is protecting itself from cyberattacks is to look at their cybersecurity posture. This includes things like their vulnerability management program and their use of security controls.
- Monitor their compliance. Businesses are required to comply with a number of regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS. Make sure your business is compliant with these regulations and has the appropriate security measures in place.
- Check their vendor management program. When working with vendors, it’s important that businesses take steps to ensure the security of their data. This includes conducting risk assessments and getting security assurances from vendors.
- Ask for a security audit. If you’re not sure how well a business is protecting itself from cyberattacks, you can always ask for a security audit. This will give you a detailed report on the healthcare business’ cybersecurity posture and what steps need to be taken to improve it.
If businesses are not doing any of these things, it’s a sign that they’re not taking cybersecurity seriously enough. If you’re concerned about the security of your data, talk to your business about what steps they are taking to protect it.
If your healthcare business needs help improving its cybersecurity posture, eMDTec can provide it. They are a leading healthcare cybersecurity provider and have the experience and expertise to help your business stay safe from cyberattacks. Contact them today at (973) 370-9265 to learn more.
