How Vulnerable are Medical Practices in Australia?
Medical practices in Australia are increasingly reliant on technology to store and share patient information. This reliance has made them a target for cybercriminals, who have attempted to access patient data through malware and ransomware attacks. Cyber security is therefore an important consideration for any medical practice, in order to protect the confidentiality of patient information.
The criticality of services delivered by the health sector is of high importance and any disruption of service could be catastrophic. Therefore, more the reason for medical practices to adopt sound security solutions to keep themselves always online and protected.
Covid-19 has further changed the landscape of the medical industry. Patients have increased the use of telehealth facilities, which require a stable and secure connection. Any vulnerabilities, in the network, could be utilized by a potential attacker. Changes to social and working environments, such as working from home, have made the public vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The Current Threats Facing Australian Medical Practices
Malware downloaded from malicious emails or websites is the most common type of security incident that medical practices are experiencing. Many medical practices are seeing a wide variety of other attacks, as well, including:
- Unauthorized access and hacking incidents.
- Theft of customer data, including credit card information.
- Ransomware attacks.
- Theft of critical business data and electronic files by external parties and insiders.
How you can Keep your Practice Safe from Cyber Attacks?
We recommend Six (6) security capabilities for Healthcare and medical practices to deal with the ever-expanding threat landscape:
- Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA) – No one is trusted with your patient data unless they are verified and authenticated by this tool. Here, you get to decide who has access and who does not.
- Secure Web Gateway (SWG)- Protecting all devices at your practice from malware and other threats by preventing users from accessing malicious website traffic on the internet.
- Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)- Providing your practice with risk-free Internet access 24/7. This keeps untrusted browser activity as far away as possible from the PCs and Laptops used at your practice. This will help protect your practice against data loss, theft or misuse.
- Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)- will protect your most valuable assets from cyber attacks. This is a must-have for medical practices in Australia as they are your best line of defence against hackers and cyber threats.
How we can help your Medical Practice?
- Secure and uninterrupted Internet connectivity for you medical practice
- Protection from cyber threats, malware and viruses so that your patient data is always safe and secure
- Better application performance for your critical medical applications at all times
- Secure access to your important medical data from anywhere
- Periodic backup of patient data and records to a secure platform
- Secure and reliable connectivity between multiple medical branches if you own more than one
