Healthcare companies are an “irresistible” target for hackers, yet many dentists may believe that they are immune to cybersecurity breaches.
Although the news certainly reports high-profile health care organizations are primarily becoming victims of cyber-attacks, smaller medical and dental practices are equally at risk.
In fact, the harm is often more significant to small businesses that lack the resources to recover from financial and reputational damage.
Now, more than ever, dentists need to explore IT security management for their practices.
The healthcare breaches aren’t new in Canada, but they are costly
One of the worst security breaches to happen in Canada resulted from the theft of an unencrypted laptop that exposed the personal data of more than half a million Medicentre Family Health Care Clinic patients.
Millions of health care records in the U.S. and Canada have been compromised over the last few years, and over half of organizations that have experienced data breaches are smaller practices.
Access is often gained through stolen devices, such as tablets, mobile phones, and laptops, as well as through phishing attempts.
Unauthorized access is easier with smaller organizations that are less likely to have invested in comprehensive cybersecurity measures, and hackers are taking advantage.
Even accidental data loss can be devastating to a small dental practice
Old software systems that are not properly maintained are partially at fault for the ease in which hackers can access private data.
Shockingly, many practices continue to ignore the importance of implementing an off-site backup system to protect their data from ransomware or catastrophic loss.
Data may not be lost to the black market, but patients will question your reliability.
Dentists have significant amounts of data to monitor
Dental offices of any size typically have hundreds, if not thousands, of patients.
Although some patients will make frequent visits to the dentist, most will only be seen a few times a year.
To be sure, the number of cavities a patient has is of little interest to hackers, but dental offices end up being responsible for vast amounts of personal data beyond tooth health.
Dental practices and other medical offices are appealing because any medical office will have basic personal information, such as addresses, phone numbers, social insurance numbers, and more.
A dental office with only a basic security network will fail to prevent a data breach, resulting in a significant quantity of compromised information.
If no managed security system is in place, then there is no way to guarantee that data is protected.
Technology has made managing a dental office much easier with the ability to track patients and provide excellent service.
However, every dental office should be aware of the risks that exist and how to manage those risks, which includes implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy as well as providing comprehensive employee training.
Do not wait to become a victim before you take action.
The ITeam understands the cybersecurity issues facing Canada dental practices. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based dentists and medical professionals develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Cybersecurity Solutions For Alberta Small Businesses
/1 Comment/in Business Continuity, Managed IT, Small Business IT /by James WagnerCompliance is a concern on an international level, especially in matters of digital privacy and mandatory breach notifications for consumers.
Adoption of new policies is little more than a headache for larger businesses.
However, for smaller businesses, fewer affordable options are available and technical teams tend to be less skilled, if they exist at all.
Regardless, small businesses can’t afford to ignore the persistence of hackers and how susceptible they are to cybersecurity breaches.
The average small business owner loses $180,000 in a cyber attack
A ransomware attack can hinder operations for several days, and the affected business may sustain further financial losses as a result of government fines and consumer settlements.
Establishing an effective cybersecurity strategy starts with an understanding that every small business is at significant risk.
Implementing a solution for cybersecurity before disaster strikes is crucial.
Why are small businesses at risk?
The obvious reason small businesses are such lucrative targets is that historically, they do not invest in cybersecurity.
They are easy to exploit, and advanced techniques are unnecessary to gain access to critical data.
Research has also demonstrated that small businesses are more likely to pay the ransom because they are desperate to save their data.
With half of the small businesses shutting their doors in the six months after a cyber attack, a cybersecurity strategy is a serious and necessary investment.
Improving cybersecurity must be an industry-wide effort
Interestingly, Canadian restaurants are now being offered security assessments as part of an industry-wide initiative.
Restaurants are hot targets for cyber attacks because of the sheer amount of consumer credit card information that is stored.
Although these security assessments only highlight the risks and do not address a solution without additional cost, it is a step in the right direction.
Awareness of the problem and the depth of security risks will help small businesses prioritize cybersecurity appropriately.
Education and training are part of the solution
Regardless of business size or industry, internal threats continue to be a primary challenge.
Employees could be inadvertently opening phishing emails, using unsecured devices remotely to access private networks or using their credentials maliciously.
Human error results in the highest number of cybersecurity breaches, yet few small businesses address the lack of training that could minimize, if not eliminate, these risks.
Best cybersecurity practices stem from possessing the available information, and cybersecurity organizations are recognizing that access to cybersecurity strategies is beneficial to the entire economy.
Small businesses must take action to protect themselves from security breaches and malicious attacks; otherwise, they could lose everything.
Small businesses may be a prime target, but there is no reason to be defenceless.
The ITeam understands the cybersecurity issues facing Canada businesses. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
3 Reasons Why Dental Clinics Need IT Security Management
/2 Comments/in Dental IT /by James WagnerHealthcare companies are an “irresistible” target for hackers, yet many dentists may believe that they are immune to cybersecurity breaches.
Although the news certainly reports high-profile health care organizations are primarily becoming victims of cyber-attacks, smaller medical and dental practices are equally at risk.
In fact, the harm is often more significant to small businesses that lack the resources to recover from financial and reputational damage.
Now, more than ever, dentists need to explore IT security management for their practices.
The healthcare breaches aren’t new in Canada, but they are costly
Millions of health care records in the U.S. and Canada have been compromised over the last few years, and over half of organizations that have experienced data breaches are smaller practices.
Access is often gained through stolen devices, such as tablets, mobile phones, and laptops, as well as through phishing attempts.
Unauthorized access is easier with smaller organizations that are less likely to have invested in comprehensive cybersecurity measures, and hackers are taking advantage.
Even accidental data loss can be devastating to a small dental practice
Old software systems that are not properly maintained are partially at fault for the ease in which hackers can access private data.
Shockingly, many practices continue to ignore the importance of implementing an off-site backup system to protect their data from ransomware or catastrophic loss.
Data may not be lost to the black market, but patients will question your reliability.
Dentists have significant amounts of data to monitor
Dental offices of any size typically have hundreds, if not thousands, of patients.
Although some patients will make frequent visits to the dentist, most will only be seen a few times a year.
To be sure, the number of cavities a patient has is of little interest to hackers, but dental offices end up being responsible for vast amounts of personal data beyond tooth health.
Dental practices and other medical offices are appealing because any medical office will have basic personal information, such as addresses, phone numbers, social insurance numbers, and more.
A dental office with only a basic security network will fail to prevent a data breach, resulting in a significant quantity of compromised information.
If no managed security system is in place, then there is no way to guarantee that data is protected.
Technology has made managing a dental office much easier with the ability to track patients and provide excellent service.
However, every dental office should be aware of the risks that exist and how to manage those risks, which includes implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy as well as providing comprehensive employee training.
Do not wait to become a victim before you take action.
The ITeam understands the cybersecurity issues facing Canada dental practices. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based dentists and medical professionals develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
How To Navigate Cybersecurity as a Legal Professional
/0 Comments/in Legal IT /by James WagnerLegal IT services can help your law firm be cyber secure.
Legal professionals face pressure to effectively manage their own data security, despite few attorneys being capable of doubling as IT experts.
There is a significant need for IT security management in the legal profession, yet the importance of cybersecurity in this industry is often overlooked.
Hackers aim for profitable targets
The confidential data often accessible in an attorney’s office can destroy the reputation of both individuals and organizations, not considering the financial repercussions of leaked information.
Hackers are drawn to sources of data that can be manipulated, and legal professionals do not always have adequate risk management policies, nor the IT support partner they need to be fully protected.
Lawyers practice law, not IT management
For professionals that should be aware of the costs of liability, many legal professionals fail to give cybersecurity the attention it deserves.
In smaller law firms as well as large-scale operations, IT often takes a backseat to the more pressing tasks of litigation, research, and client support.
There is little to no training offered to employees about how to avoid phishing scams, and insufficient precautions are taken against insider threats and external breaches.
Even legal professionals must establish a culture of cybersecurity to protect their intellectual property.
Cybersecurity should be integrated into business practices
Legal professionals are often mobile, with laptops, tablets, and mobile devices serving as office and data storage.
Proactive cybersecurity must be integrated into every aspect of doing business, such as multi-factor authentication on all devices and a secure network that can safely transmit classified data.
Legal professionals are known for their discretion involving privileged information, but promising a secured digital infrastructure requires a comprehensive approach.
IT managed security services offer an array of benefits for the legal industry.
Overlooking the responsibility of protecting privileged information can jeopardize the entire organization as well as the clients who are being served.
The ITeam understands the special need for cybersecurity that legal practices face. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based legal and dental professionals develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
Is Your Dental Clinic in Compliance with Alberta’s Health Information Act?
/1 Comment/in Compliance, Dental IT /by James WagnerMaintaining private records of patients is a heavy responsibility.
The appropriate collection, use, and disclosure of confidential information are critical to maintaining privacy for those that choose to trust in your practice, which demands from you a strong cybersecurity strategy.
Establishing security practices is an obvious step for custodians such as dentists, but many do not realize that they have to prove their digital infrastructure is secure with a Privacy Impact Assessment.
What is a Privacy Impact Assessment?
It is an opportunity for an organization to look at how they manage the personal data that is retained and what steps are being taken to protect that data.
With risks always existing within any system, it is essential that organizations are aware of their weaknesses and take active steps to continuously improve their cybersecurity strategies.
Make PIAs a Priority
Developing PIAs can be intimidating, but to remain in compliance with Alberta’s Health Information Act, private dental practices do not have the choice.
Luckily, there are many resources available to assist in creating and filing a PIA.
The first step is to begin the process as soon as possible and document everything associated with privacy risks.
By creating awareness of the risks that exist, this also puts you one step ahead of potential hackers who may make malicious attempts at gaining access to your confidential servers.
Implement and Refresh Your Action Plan
PIAs are public documents that are not simply for show.
They are a demonstration to the community you serve that you can be trusted with their privileged information.
Although the PIA identifies risks and establishes a plan to manage those risks, the PIA itself is only the outlined strategy.
our organization must commit to implementing the designed plan and then managing the plan with regular updates.
If necessary, you can update your submitted PIA if you have made major changes to one of your programs.
New risks can arise every day, requiring consistent monitoring of your systems to ensure that data is safe.
The basic tenants of a PIA demand legal compliance, to determine risks and evaluate your existing processes.
However, a PIA secures more than just your data.
It establishes trust with whom you serve, and it prevents financial disaster for your organization that may result from fines or lawsuits in the wake of a security breach.
A PIA is not merely an annoying hurdle, but is, rather, an ethical responsibility as a private dental practice.
Both you and your patients will have peace of mind, and maintaining compliance is critical to the success of your organization.
The ITeam understands the cybersecurity issues facing Canada dental practices. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based dentists and medical professionals develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
How To Avoid Becoming a Repeat Defender of Ransomware
/0 Comments/in Cybersecurity, Security Alert /by James WagnerCan your system be infected with the same ransomware twice?
Technically, yes.
If your IT department does not make the appropriate corrections to your cybersecurity infrastructure following a cyber-attack, leaving your infrastructure essentially vulnerable with the same weaknesses, a hacker will be more than happy to reinfect your systems.
However, performing the appropriate updates and installing the necessary patches does not always secure you against the same ransomware either.
Hackers are using more advanced technology every day, leaving organizations susceptible to new methods of attack.
Defensive approaches aren’t enough
One infection could easily lead to another if you prove to be an easy target.
Your main concern should be your overall strength against any attack, rather than concern over the same ransomware breaching your defences twice.
For organizations that utilize constant cybersecurity monitoring and other preventative approaches to their security strategy, their systems are less likely to be infected by the same ransomware or other malware a second time.
But many organizations spend too much time repairing holes made by malicious attempts to access data, rather than reinforcing the entire IT infrastructure.
Cybercriminals are using a classic bait-and-switch
Although the ransomware used is technically not the same, cybercriminals are discovering that they can double their luck by attacking twice in the same email distribution.
Hackers distributing phishing emails will load one set of emails with one ransomware, and another set of emails with different ransomware.
This tricks the organization into thinking they have already set up defences against one strain, only to be taken advantage of hours or days later by yet another strain.
Any ransom paid to retrieve stolen information must be paid again to the very same hackers who had previously demanded payment.
Ransomware is always evolving
The answer to whether your systems can be infected twice by the same ransomware depends more upon your level of cybersecurity than the efficiency of hackers.
New distribution methods are proving successful against organizations of every size and taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity – playing offence and anticipating attacks – is the only way to truly protect your data.
First steps involve educating all employees on what a phishing email looks like, as well as establishing constant monitoring systems that can alert you in advance of breaches.
If you think your systems have been compromised by ransomware, the first step is to immediately mitigate the damages. The next step is to conduct a complete analysis of your systems and implement a proactive action to prevent future breaches and to protect your sensitive data. Hackers will stop at nothing to profit from your data; you should stop at nothing to protect it.
The ITeam understands the cybersecurity issues facing Canada businesses. We are committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive, cost-effective IT strategies that minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Contact us to learn more.