Tag: cyber security

CYBERSECURITY for hospitals

Hospital Cybersecurity: Why It Matters

Michelle

Hospitals have come to rely heavily on their medical computer infrastructure. Everything from billing information to patient medical histories are stored on digital devices. These devices have made the task of record keeping much easier for your workers. But they also make it much easier for criminals to access sensitive information. Hackers have taken to targeting businesses of every size, with no leeway given to vital industries such as healthcare. One slip-up can lock your workers out of their computers for days. This can cost your hospital a fortune, and create a PR nightmare. Hospitals need to focus on increasing their cybersecurity in order to avoid help being targeted for these attacks.

Ransomware Hacks Are Only Increasing

Ransomware attacks rose by an astonishing 62% from 2019 to 2020. These attacks don’t just target the industrial sector, they have their eyes on hospitals as well. According to Dean Sittig, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics at the School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth in Houston, “Cybercriminals try every hospital, every day; every computer, multiple times a day.”

These attacks work by targeting your employees, vulnerabilities in your medical computer system, or a combination of the two. Once they gain access to your system, they lock all of your files through encryption. They promise to unlock them once given a bounty. Hospitals pay these bounties in crypto currency. This leaves little hope of tracing the transaction and holding the cybercriminals accountable.

In 2019, a ransomware attack against a hospital locked staff out of their computers, causing them to miss early warning signs that ultimately led to the tragic death of an infant. These sorts of stories will only become more common as the ease at which hacks can occur as well as their payouts increase.

What Are Cybersecurity Authorities Doing?

After a cyber attack that took out a major U.S. oil pipeline, the federal government began taking ransomware attacks more seriously. As of now, the Biden administration has taken preliminary steps to address the crisis. These include encouraging more businesses to report attacks. Biden also met with 30 countries to address the issue. While concrete actions are still sparse, there are steps hospitals can take in the meantime to help fend off would-be attackers.

What Your Hospital Can Do To Ward Off Cyber Attacks

Here are some things your hospital can do to help stay safe:

  • Have mandatory cybersecurity training with staff that covers the basics of phishing
  • Limit internet access in your building
  • Have a cybersecurity consultant on retainer 
  • Keep all medical computers updated with the latest software updates
m24t medical grade computer bioengineering
Tangent M24T Medical Computer

One of the major ways hackers can access systems is through computers with old, outdated software. The longer a piece of software has been out, the more time hackers have had to exploit it. New medical computers like the M24T have the latest versions of windows installed directly on them, which can help prevent cyber attacks. Tangent has a full lineup of medical computers built to help hospitals in their medical work, as well as being fully updated. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

Tangent Cyber Security

How Can Hospitals Combat Hackers During This Pandemic?

Michelle

Each and every day, hackers try their best to take down cybersecurity systems around the world, and those of hospitals are no exception. The New York Times has reported that Russian hackers have attempted to steal information on possible vaccines from the U.S. last week. In addition, over 140 high profile figures had their twitter accounts hacked last week in a devastating cyber attack. This only goes to show that even during a pandemic, cyber security must remain a top priority. Maintaining your hospital’s cybersecurity is crucial, here are three ways to help keep your hospital safe.

Choose The Right Medical Computers

Not every medical computer is created equal, and it shows when it comes to cyber security. Having secure medical computers is crucial for hospitals to thwart hacking and ransomware attempts, and there are no better medical computers for the job than those from Tangent. Medical grade computers from Tangent are built with your hospital’s safety in mind, both in the medical and cyber sense.

Medical grade computers like the M24T from Tangent come equipped with TPM 2.0 for maximum cybersecurity. This module ensures that the computer boots up and functions as it should, helping prevent costly breakdowns.  In addition, this module can prevent dictionary cyberattacks — a method used by hackers to figure out passwords — from occurring on your medical grade computers.

Keep Your Medical Grade Computers Updated

The longer a piece of software sits without being updated, the more time potential hackers have to crack it. When you update software on your medical computer, you’re not just receiving the latest additions. These updates make it harder for hackers to break into the software, as they now have to start from scratch in finding a vulnerability. Keeping your medical computers updated is the easiest way to help ward off potential cyber criminals.

Keep Your Doctors And Nurses Informed

Your medical computers are only as smart as the medical staff using them. It is important to train your staff not only how to use their medical grade computer, but also how to recognize suspicious activity. While this pandemic has strained hospital resources, it is this same strain that can make employees more susceptible to falling for cyber tricks like phishing scams. Make sure that your medical staff stay vigilant about such attempts.

Stay Safe With Tangent

Tangent medical computers are designed with antimicrobial enclosures and TPM modules to keep your hospital safe from physical and digital pathogens. Keep your hospital running inside and out with medical grade computers from Tangent.

healthcare data security

The Importance of Security and Medical Grade Hardware

Admin

On May 14th, Simon Pope, a director at the Microsoft Security Response Center, wrote a blog post urging users of older Windows operating systems to install security patches on their computers and take steps to secure themselves from a known vulnerability that could be exploited and result in worm infections and/or cyber attacks. The remote code execution vulnerability was discovered in the Remote Desktop Services on versions older than Windows 8. This warning arises from the lessons of the 2017 “WannaCry” ransomware attack. Those attacks were highly destructive even though a Windows security patch for it had been available for months. WannaCry affected thousands of computers worldwide, bringing down hospital networks and causing the cancellation of over 19,000 medical appointments.

It seems incredible that a hospital’s IT staff would overlook such crucial updates, but it’s an unfortunate reality for many medical companies. Another problem is that many facilities don’t upgrade their hardware often enough to be able to run newer versions of Windows, and much of their computer inventory is not of a medical grade. Cost and budget constraints tend to be the reason for lack of security or hardware updates, but as seen with the WannaCry attack, the results can be more catastrophic to a hospital and its ability to service patients.

medical grade computers

Tangent offers thirteen different types of medical grade computers that can be customized to suit the needs of any medical facility. A multi-year analysis of cost and return on investment will reveal that having up-to-date technology and safety measures will end up saving more for the hospital. With Tangent’s medical grade fanless touchscreen computers, one can be confident that infection and contaminants will not be spread amongst patients from the hospital’s computer equipment. The enclosures are protected from water ingress so that they may be disinfected thoroughly. Many are equipped with hot-swappable batteries or UPS internal batteries for continuous use of the system even during power outages. The medical computers are also equipped with the latest version of Windows to help keep the operating systems and data as safe as possible. The list of available options is truly impressive and allows hospitals to find the right fit for their requirements and budget, while also ensuring that they are doing everything they can to prevent cyber attacks and downtime.