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Why Zero Trust is The Answer to Securing Healthcare Data
It’s high time the healthcare industry started taking data security more seriously.
by Narendran Vaideeswaran, Product Marketing Manager, ColorTokens Inc
Like many other major industries, the healthcare industry too is under constant attack from
cybercriminals. Healthcare organizations have a huge repository of patient data like name, phone
number, email address, and medical history. Apart from personal information, they also store payment
details which hackers can misuse for monetary gains.
Recent attacks on healthcare organizations have shown that cybercriminals are using sophisticated
techniques to hack into secure networks and exfiltrate data. While cyberattacks are one part of the
problem, the healthcare industry also suffers from a huge percentage of internal threats.
These threats could be employees with malicious intent or unintentional actions by employees which
directly compromise an attribute of a security asset. If the healthcare industry wants to protect itself, both
these threats must be prevented without compromise.
State of Security in The Healthcare Industry
Due to sensitive nature of the data that is at stake, the healthcare industry in the US must comply with
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). The legislation recommends a set
of guidelines which ensure that healthcare organizations implement physical, network, as well as process
security. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that limiting cyber security to just HIPAA
compliance is not enough anymore.
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