3 Reasons Why IoT Security Is Crucial To Healthcare

    The healthcare sector in the past few years reported a high rate of security breaches. Over the years these cyberattacks are doubling up as for a long time the healthcare sector underwent compromised systems.

    The biggest ultimatum to modernizing systems is to make sure that it has an impenetrable and secure infrastructure. While this appears like a huge undertaking, the first move is to lay down a strong foundation. This will include security integration into the core of the infrastructure from a processor extent (from third-party devices to employee hardware).

    What are the top three reasons why IoT is crucial to healthcare?

    1. Cyber attackers target the healthcare sector for many reasons. One of them is that they hold and safeguard huge amounts of data that are sensitive like intellectual property as research protocols and details on a vaccine. They also have identity information like insurance and medical details that can be sold.
    2. Healthcare services are time-sensitive in nature for which they accept demands, blackmails, and ransoms. This is absolutely true if any possibility of a life threat is involved.
    3. The healthcare sector faces security vulnerability like IoT (Internet of Things) security. These are generally connected with devices (medical) like X-Ray and MRI equipment that are typically taken from a third-party source. These medical equipment are not built along with cyber security as a priority thus, they are unsafe from cyber-attacks that can access the sensitive data.

    IoT security allows access to a huge amount of data and the prospect of remote services and telemedicine.

    What are the best IoT security practices?

    After making sure that the security is strong, they can identify vulnerabilities of IoT security that need upgradation. Organizations or platforms like NetSuite Services know the ways to incorporate these in a time-efficient and cost-effective way.

    Here is how the healthcare sector should proceed.

    Total security assessments of both new and old devices that have access to the organization’s network privacy. This has to be done under a government framework.

    IoT specific security secures all the connected devices effectively anyway whether they are IoT, OT (operational technology), or IT (information technology). This is of utmost importance as cyber attackers usually visualize all the connected devices as a piece of one system.

    What is the IoT market in healthcare?

    There are 3 primary categories

    • Wearable devices like feather-light biosensors are used to keep a close check on patients and wearable monitor blood-glucose levels for diabetic patients.
    • Implantable devices include any device which is inserted in the body. These include infusion pumps of insulin, defibrillators, and smart pacemakers.
    • Other devices such as thermometers, smart pens, security cameras, etc. communicate the data of the patients from and to the healthcare information systems.

    How does a cyber-attack happen?

    Hackers generally follow a standard protocol after breaching in a medical facility or a hospital. They are,

    • They compromise the weakest link (IoT device) in the network
    • They access any kind of data on the equipment and intercept the communications
    • They then move to other devices or computers within the same network and take advantage by knowing the vulnerabilities
    • Lastly, they steal the highly confidential medical informative data, attack functions (mission-critical), or both.

    The prospect of an attack is never acceptable. A cyber-attack cost can be staggering in terms of both patient care and financials. Services remain shut, a ransom amount is paid to retrieve the leaked data, and many such situations arise when a cyber-attack occurs.

    How can you stop the hackers

    • You need to maintain full visibility, that is you need to be fully aware of the devices that have an access to your network
    • IoT services make it possible to secure by threat intelligence (real-time) and patching. Thus by mitigating vulnerabilities you can prevent a breach of security
    • Look for IoT solutions that can make network segmentation easier and that can grant access just for legitimate work requirements.

    Conclusion

    IoT cyber-security will be coming into effect in the worldwide jurisdiction.

    Taking initial steps to mediate the risks in the healthcare industry will put it in a better place when IoT cyber-security will be made mandatory by the law because when we talk about the healthcare sector, tight security indicates serious matters like life and death. Platforms like NetSuite security provide IoT cyber-security for the healthcare industry.

    You May Also Like

    Top Growth Hack For Your Business in 2017 – Outsourcing

    In 2017 34% of Companies Will Outsource in 2017 Outsourcing has been a normal ...

    Android Text Hack

    Researchers at Zimperium zLabs have uncovered a series of vulnerabilities affecting Android operating systems that could ...

    Hacking Team Hacked

    Over the past couple days, we’ve seen a rapid influx of Zero-Day vulnerabilities hit ...