Page 129 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2022

The migration of electronic healthcare data stored to a cloud-based architecture has created a significant
shift in how businesses must proceed with managing and protecting their end-user's sensitive
information. Robust privacy and security policies and certifications must replace traditional security
measures for protected data that organizations previously managed on-premises.

A Culture of Compliance

Companies managing sensitive data must adopt a culture of compliance when developing their security
and privacy programs. This initiative should start with the company’s risk management framework.
Leadership needs to set the bar high, as does the investment in technologies that ensure the privacy and
security of the data.

We utilize third-party audit organizations to test and validate our compliance program’s security and
privacy controls. Companies that don’t look holistically at their security and privacy measures upfront will
have difficulty implementing the long-term.

Buy-in for compliance must come from the top. A company’s board of directors, the executive
management team, and the organization must create a culture around compliance. Without buy-in from
the top, it is challenging to implement proper safeguards.

As healthcare data breaches have been occurring more frequently and on a larger scale, these
cybersecurity issues have reminded us that not all companies hold data security and privacy with such
high regard. Despite the increased adoption of innovative cloud-based technologies, the healthcare
industry still lags behind most other industries when it comes to data security and privacy management.
This is mainly due in part to the challenges presented by the complex nature of healthcare data and
budget limitations.

The End-User

Health information is worth much more on the dark web than someone's financial information. With that
additional information, a hack can manipulate things such as medical services and IRS tax audits. As
such, the end-user is rightfully looking at who is managing their data and what regulatory framework is in
place to protect their most sensitive information. Companies that don't adhere to these frameworks
increasingly run the risk of facing consequences that are severe and expensive.

As this paradigm shift in healthcare data security continues to take place, the most successful data
management companies will adopt a modern risk framework that emphasizes a culture of compliance
that ultimately builds more trust with their end-user.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2022 Edition 129
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