
Three Risk Management Strategies to Enhance Cybersecurity in Healthcare
Healthcare providers must have capable security systems that are up to the task in an industry that is hit two to three times more than any other
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CIO Applications Europe | Monday, October 04, 2021

Health systems must be able to find, assess, and manage the cybersecurity risks constantly that medical, clinical, and other unmanaged connected devices contribute to the clinical network to avoid the spread of threats within clinical networks.
Fremont, CA: Healthcare providers must have capable security systems that are up to the task in an industry that is hit two to three times more than any other. Simply put, integrated asset management and cybersecurity strategy are the way to go. It's a tried-and-true method that scales to the recognized management issues of linked health as we know them now and as we prepare for an even more fragmented, distributed future. Here are three risk management strategies to enhance cybersecurity:
Handle Vulnerabilities
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Since medical devices are typically directly connected to patients and are networked, the risks associated with them must be managed differently than those associated with traditional IT. For instance, although a vulnerability scan of a PC connected to a printer is safe, scanning an infusion pump attached to a human being is not. Therefore, health systems must be able to identify between the assets that are hosted on their networks and know where they are and what they are doing. Otherwise, security patching and other preventative maintenance can't be done without jeopardizing patient care.
Recommend Proper Remediations and Mitigations
Patients may suffer serious effects if devices are turned off or communications between assets are blocked. Clinicians, understandably, are uninterested in security features that add more delays and hazards than they eliminate. Security must be an enabler of care delivery rather than an unwanted set of additional constraints. When security and clinical context interests are aligned and recognized, healthcare organizations can use network-based control points to enforce rules and risk mitigation techniques. At the very least, these measures can prevent the spread of an assault without interfering with regular operations or the delivery of care.
Assess Device Risks Accurately
Risks must be evaluated from the proper perspective. This necessitates a mix of cybersecurity and clinical knowledge. The ability to recognize various sorts of hazards and a grasp of their respective tolerance levels is a necessary first step. A risk framework tailored to the healthcare industry can assist in making these complex decisions. It can not only detect and rate risks so that they can be evaluated appropriately and prioritized, but it can also document a health system's compensatory mechanisms so that health systems are aware of the specifics of the risks they choose to accept.
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