The use of conventional methods of securing information (such as antivirus software, firewalls, and other solutions) is applicable but might not be enough to identify and respond to modern-day threats. Managed IT services for healthcare could play a certain role in the cybersecurity framework of any healthcare organization, giving them the ability to constantly monitor their cybersecurity threats and respond to them.
But does every organization need managed detection and response in healthcare? This is dependent on many factors.
Why Healthcare Has Become a Prime Target for Cyberattacks
Healthcare organizations make attractive targets as they possess significant amounts of valuable information. Patient history may include names, addresses, insurance information, medical history, financial information, and other sensitive information.
Technology is also well used in the healthcare sector. From remote access systems and patient portals to connected medical devices and electronic health records, there are multiple possible entry points for an attacker.
What Is Managed Detection and Response (MDR)?
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a cybersecurity service that involves continuous monitoring of an organization’s systems to detect suspicious activity, both with technology and with aspects of security being human.
An MDR provider isn’t just notified when something amiss occurs; instead, they can provide assistance in the investigation and ultimately decide if it constitutes a threat or not.
Depending on the service, MDR could be:
- 24/7 security monitoring
- Threat detection and investigation
- Endpoint monitoring
- Security alert analysis
- Threat hunting
- Incident investigation
- Containment and response assistance
- Security reporting
The objective is to detect a threat as soon as possible and respond to it accordingly, before a threat is able to do any severe damage.
Why Traditional Healthcare Security Often Falls Short
The average cost of a healthcare data breach is USD 7.42 million. While traditional security tools will play a significant role, healthcare organizations can face serious challenges when there are more security alerts than they can investigate.
Healthcare IT departments can also find themselves with a ton of responsibilities, from keeping their clinical systems running smoothly to supporting staff, managing devices, and addressing everyday technical issues, which leaves data security at risk.
Key Benefits of MDR for Healthcare Organizations
Continuous monitoring is one of the biggest benefits of managed detection and response in healthcare. Constant surveillance will be able to help detect suspicious activities during hours when there are no on-site workers.
MDR can additionally offer:
- Earlier detection of threats: Suspicious activity can be studied in real time and not many days or weeks later after a detection event.
- Expert analysis: Security professionals can tell a potentially threatening alarm from a typical alarm.
- Better incident response: Organizations can have systems in place to mitigate and investigate threats.
- Lower stress on IT staff: People inside the healthcare organization can concentrate on technology and business operations, with security experts taking care of monitoring.
- Improved visibility: MDR can provide insight into what is occurring at the endpoints, throughout the network(s), and other systems.
- Better security level: Ongoing surveillance can detect various security issues and vulnerabilities.
MDR can then be integrated with an MDM service, linking into an existing IT program in managed services provided by a healthcare cybersecurity vendor like Cyber Husky, and bring in extra specialized knowledge to the program.
Do You Actually Need MDR? Key Signs to Consider
Not all organizations are the same about cybersecurity backing. A variety of indicators illustrate whether MDR for healthcare should be considered or not, however.
Your organization could benefit from MDR if:
- Your IT team is unable to monitor everything around security issues.
- You have valuable patient data that you don’t intend to let go.
- You depend extensively on the use of applications in the cloud and connected devices.
- Your security system produces a high volume of alerts that you are unable to track down.
Thus, MDR should also be explored by organisations that are likely to suffer serious tangible consequences from a successful cyber-compromise that exceed the costs of paying for MDR.
Which Healthcare Organizations Benefit Most from MDR?
SMTPs are not usually found in smaller or mid-sized medical practices, as they often do not have the necessary budget or resources to sustain their own security operations team. By using MDR for healthcare, they can put into action their own security expertise without having to develop their own security infrastructure.
Laboratories, behavioral health providers, pharmacies, and even those in the healthcare tech industry that handle sensitive data or deployment systems that need high availability can also benefit in this regard.
Conclusion
While traditional security tools provide some form of response capabilities to threats and breaches, MDR can offer organizations ongoing monitoring, threat analysis, and response capabilities. It’s especially important for organisations that don’t have any people to be specifically looking into cybersecurity or cannot in any way keep an eye on their surroundings all day and every day.
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