Page 22 - Cyber Warnings

8. Tightly manage access to medical devices through their USB ports. Do not allow
staff to use USB ports except under conditions and processes approved by your
security operations team. One medical device can infect and re-infect the network
and open it up to cyberattackers. Since standard cybersecurity suites cannot detect
attackers within these devices, do everything possible to minimize access.

9. Isolate medical devices inside a special secure network and isolate this network
with internal firewalls that allow access only to specific services and IP addresses.
Do not allow general Internet access to these devices under any circumstances. If
practical, keep medical devices entirely off any networks that connect to the
Internet.

10. Employ new deception technologies designed to identify malware and
persistent attack vectors that have already bypassed your primary defenses.
Assume that your network has been penetrated and act accordingly. Deception
technology automatically deploys camouflaged decoys and lures into the
network, where they intermingle with the hospital’s real information technology
resources. To a cyberattacker, these decoys appear identical in every way to
the hospital’s real assets, and they are designed to be attractive to attackers
moving stealthily within a network in search of high-value assets. The attackers
are caught immediately, the moment they touch one of the decoys.

In summary, healthcare networks and hospitals are easy targets for cyberattackers. Healthcare
data has high value and remains a target of choice. New best practices and policies can benefit
healthcare institutions not only by reducing risk and vulnerability, but also by reducing the time
to breach detection when cyberattackers penetrate the security infrastructure.

About the Author

Carl Wright is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with experience in
the security, storage, virtualization and software sectors. Prior to joining
TrapX he held executive operational roles at Securify, Decru, and Kidaro,
where he contributed to rapid growth and subsequent acquisition by,
respectively, Microsoft, Network Appliance, and Secure Computing. He has
extensive experience in all aspects of enterprise information technology
deployments and has held key IT operational roles, including chief
information security officer for the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a bachelor’s
degree in management from Augsburg College and a master’s degree in information technology
management from the Naval Postgraduate School. In 1999, he was awarded the National
Security Agency’s Frank B. Rowlett Trophy for Worldwide Information Security Professional of
the year by General Michael Hayden (U.S. Air Force Ret.).

22 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – May 2016 Edition
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