Submitted by Elie Nasrallah , Director – Cyber Security Strategy
The healthcare industry remains one of the most frequently targeted sectors in the United States. It accounted for nearly a quarter (23%) of all breaches reported in 2017, second only to the business category, in another record year for data theft. That’s why Trend Micro has been a long-time supporter of initiatives like HITRUST CyberAid, designed to improve baseline security among smaller healthcare organizations (HCOs).
It’s also why we’ll be at the upcoming HiMSS 2018 show in Las Vegas this week, sharing our expertise and even challenging attendees to a new cyber-attack simulation game: Hospital Under Siege!
HCOs under attack
HCOs are an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals. Why? A combination of complex, heterogeneous systems; historical under-investment in cybersecurity; a fluid, dispersed mobile workforce; and potentially lucrative patient data have created a perfect storm exposing the sector to ever-growing risk. Hackers are also aware that if they get ransomware on mission critical systems then hospitals may be forced to pay up or risk impacting patient care — a factor which some estimates claim has led to an 89% year-on-year increase in ransomware targeting the sector.
Trend Micro’s response has been to team up with HITRUST on a CyberAid program designed to get our security tools in the hands of more small physician practices across the country. We followed this up with a further collaboration on Cyber Threat XChange (CTX) Deceptive: an industry first, shared cyber deception platform designed to lure attackers and better detect advanced threats.
At the show
Events like HiMSS offer great opportunities for IT professionals to network with their peers, share best practices and learn from industry experts. That’s why we’ll be at the event in Las Vegas this week to join the discussion and explain why layered, cross-generational security is the only option for HCOs under increasing pressure from cyber-threats.
The truth is that there’s no silver bullet solution for HCOs battling to keep data and systems safe and secure — however much some vendors may try to convince you otherwise. The best approach for success is to layer up connected security at the endpoint, network and cloud with a blend of techniques optimized for leading platforms and apps like Office 365, Azure and AWS.
These techniques could include everything from app control to exploit prevention, and behavioral analysis to machine learning: the key is to have all bases covered and apply the right technology at the right time for maximum protection. By sharing the same underlying intelligence you also get more effective and connected threat defense, all managed from a centralized portal. That’s the beauty of our XGen approach.
If you want to find out more, come down to HiMSS and drop by to our stand (#8) in the Cybersecurity Command Center at the Challenge Area, located in the Titan Ballroom, or our kiosk (#6) in the Cybersecurity Pavilion, located in the Veronese Ballroom.
We’ll also be hosting a must-see presentation with Craig Gormé and Jason Noll from UF Health. A Holistic Approach to Information Security will take place March 7, 10-10.20am at the Cybersecuity Command Center (Titan Ballroom).
Finally, if you fancy testing your cybersecurity expertise, then try our cyber-attack simulation game Hospital Under Siege in the Challenge Area. There’ll be Apple Watches, Amazon Echos, and Bose headphones on offer as prizes.
