All it takes is one weak endpoint in your healthcare facility’s cybersecurity program to make you vulnerable to a cyberattack threat.
Several endpoints are connected to your IT network at any given time. These devices can include mobile phones, laptops, printers, smartwatches, medical devices, servers, and more. Just your facility alone could have hundreds or thousands of endpoints that are either managed internally or through a third-party vendor. All of these endpoints put your facility at risk of being compromised, and these threats are even more prevalent today with the rise of remote work, interconnectivity, and bring-your-own-device policies within healthcare organizations.
How can you take special care to protect your facility from cyberattacks? By making endpoint security a critical component of your IT network. These programs help to secure your network by analyzing all files that enter through your endpoints and pinpointing potential threats.
As endpoint security protocols continue to advance, so do cyberattacks. This is why it’s so important for organizations to understand how to effectively implement the best security practices that mitigate risk and protect your patients’ sensitive data.
Endpoint Security Is Key to Securing Your Data
While your essential workers still come to work every day, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed non-essential workers into fully remote or hybrid roles. Flexible working conditions weren’t very common in the healthcare industry before the pandemic, but they’ll likely become the new norm. The adjustment was so rapid, however, that many facilities’ cybersecurity measures weren’t up to standard — this is why the shift to remote work has become the top threat to data security.
Facilities didn’t have a grasp on security controls with the influx of workers using their own devices to work from home. There was also a significant lack of instruction and practically zero oversight of how non-essential workers were using their devices. While endpoint security isn’t exactly a magical solution, it does help facilities update their security measures and protect their data.
Choosing an Endpoint Security Solution
Facilities typically have three security solutions to choose from: extended detection and response (XDR), endpoint protection platform (EPP), and endpoint detection and remediation (EDR).
EPPs are the most basic privacy tool. Think of them like the antivirus software you install on your computer. They help catch new unsafe files coming through your network. EDRs take these capabilities to the next level by allowing a program to constantly monitor files and look for any suspicious patterns. Finally, XDRs use machine learning and automation to strengthen a facility’s infrastructure and prevent complex threats before they become an issue.
The endpoint security solution that would work best for your facility depends on your network and internal structure, but what is most important is that all healthcare organizations start prioritizing endpoint security to thwart cyberattacks and keep their data safe and secure.
