By now, most people are aware of the massive data breach that occurred at Anthem late last week. Though it doesn't appear that any actual health records were stolen, social security numbers and other personally identifiable information were exposed to external attackers. As we've previously talked about on on blog, malicious hackers have discovered that targeting healthcare organizations can be one of the most profitable (illegal) activities in modern society; and unfortunately it seems like these attacks will only continue to increase in frequency.
When it comes down to securing the information against leaks, there's are 3 main components to consider: people, products, and processes. By creating comprehensive plans to maintain the security of each of these areas you can prevent the large majority of incidents before they even occur. Though no organization is ever 100% safe from outside forces, by engaging in best practices you can safeguard against the most common avenues of intrusion.
People are the most essential component to every plan, but also the most fallible. Quality training on security safeguards, data access controls, and continuous oversight can help prevent the most common issues; but humans are naturally prone to error and will occasionally take shortcuts when they do not understand how essential some practices are. Designing your team structure can ensure that the most crucial pieces of the plan are double checked by multiple members, creating a double layer of protection against easily missed errors.
But before you can train people in best practices, you must choose quality products that can fit your unique organizational needs and requirements. Data privacy and security is a crowded field, but going with low cost software will often expose you to potential issues. Lack of customer support, sluggish response to online threats, and lack of customization can hurt you in the long run. With this in mind it's always good to consider enterprise grade backups with the security systems that you need. Designed with large clients in mind and up-to-date with the modern encryption standards, these systems can give you the best tools for deflecting threats as they occur.
Through combining your people and products, you can therefore generate efficient processes that achieve organizational goals. Qualified users need time to get familiar with the day to day programs that they will be working with; and ignorance is no excuse. The more familiar people are with the software the more likely they will be to fully utilize it's capabilities – justifying the investment. However, not all companies have the resources to fully take advantage of the benefits offered by this synergy; in that case bringing in qualified outside consultants can help make those procedures the best they possibly can be.
By combining these three areas many organizations can find the peace of mind that is so hard to attain with all the changes occurring in the marketplace environment. The Data Vault has been guiding our clients through managing their information for over 30 years, and we'd love to be a part of the conversation. If your company ever has questions or inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us and one of our qualified experts will be in touch!
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