Healthcare
Caring for Patient Data
In the modern healthcare setting, one of the core tenets of the Hippocratic oath – to do no harm – applies to protecting patient health information as well as their physical well-being.
Information technology in healthcare improves patient care and safety. But it also puts enormous pressure on your IT department to safeguard that information.
A recent study found that 13 percent of healthcare organizations nationwide have experienced some form of security breach.* Sensitive patient information has been exposed by file-sharing programs on personal computers, and medical information about celebrities leaked to the press. Medical identities have been stolen in order to obtain care fraudulently, or to submit bogus claims and defraud the healthcare system of millions of dollars.
* 2008 HIMSS Analytics Report: Security of Patient Data
Network Diagram for Healthcare Security Solution
Click to enlarge
The challenges include:
New applications - Computerized physician order-entry, PACs, patient tracking, and electronic medical records systems put more sensitive data online, and introduce more security holes that can be exploited. Remote connections - Connecting remote clinics and physician home offices allows patient information to be transmitted over the public Internet, and gives you the responsibility of enforcing security at far-flung locations. Wireless access - Roaming clinicians with tablet PCs and laptops improve data access at the point of care, but introduce obvious security concerns as well. Evolving threats - A new generation of botnets, spyware, and zero day attacks preys on unsophisticated users.
Infected attachments, compromised web sites, file sharing, and instant messaging make every PC attached to your network a security threat.
Taking HIPAA Head-On
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act makes protecting patient data not just an ethical, but also a legal responsibility. While the standards may be vague, the mandate to protect patient data and the threat of penalties are clear. WatchGuard plays a broad role in complying with Part 164 (Security and Privacy) of the HIPAA Final Rule, specifically the sections dealing with Administrative and Technical safeguards.
Extensible Threat Management for Healthcare
Extensible threat management (XTM) security solutions from WatchGuard aggregate multiple security measures into a single device. Choose from a family of these devices, which can be deployed everywhere from individual physician offices to remote clinics to medical centers. XTM protects patient data from compromise in a layered fashion, delivering broad protection that is far simpler to manage.
Deep application inspection goes beyond the capabilities of conventional packet-based firewalls by rejecting malicious traffic that masquerades as legitimate traffic. This is especially important given the increasing number of web-based healthcare applications.
Zero day protection guards against unpublished and undisclosed threats that aren’t stopped by conventional, signature-based anti-virus and anti-spyware products. These attacks often take advantage of holes in business applications used by individuals in offices and clinics.
Multifaceted, Multi-layered Protection
Intrusion prevention protects against a broad range of attacks that attempt to access sensitive data or gain control of critical servers. It can also block instant messaging or peer-to-peer file sharing, which are especially dangerous in a healthcare setting.
Gateway anti-virus provides signature-based protection to stop known spyware, worms, viruses, and trojans. It blocks threats that could expose patient data or even allow remote takeover of a machine.
Spam blocking keeps close to 100% of unwanted email out of the network and includes powerful virus outbreak detection capabilities for an additional layer of protection from email-borne threats.
URL and web content filtering protects users and computers from accessing sites known to harbor malicious or inappropriate content.
Secure Remote Access
Branch office and mobile user VPN encrypts data sent over the public Internet to keep it from prying eyes. IPSec VPNs are typically used for fixed, point-to-point connections such as between a medical center campus and a satellite clinic, secondary hospital, large group practice, or clearinghouse. SSL VPNs are ideal for single user and mobile user access from home offices, small group practices, and home-health settings.
Secure encrypted wireless functionality establishes secure connections for roaming clinicians within the medical campus.
Simplified Management and Compliance Monitoring
WatchGuard’s reputation as an easy-to-use security solution is especially advantageous in a healthcare setting where you’re dealing with multiple applications and huge volumes of critical patient data. Wizards simplify the setup of an effective security posture. And the WatchGuard System Manager controls multiple appliances from a central location, so you can effectively manage security across sprawling medical campuses and remote sites. Real-time monitoring and logging provide not just an effective view of security, but also documented proof for inspectors conducting a HIPAA audit.
Find an authorized WatchGuard reseller in your area.
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