October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This is the perfect reminder to audit your cybersecurity infrastructure, policies, and procedures. Doing this annually will help keep your Senior Living or Post-Acute Care organization safe from cybercriminals.
Mobile device theft constitutes a major source of HIPAA breaches in senior living communities. According to a PubMed study, most HIPAA breaches are caused by the theft or loss of mobile devices on which Protected Health Information (PHI) is stored. The online journal Perspectives in Health Information Management reports that mobile technology is revolutionizing healthcare. Providers who work in the senior living industry are increasingly using mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets at the point of care. This is good news for residents and staff alike, but it also means that administrators and employees must be extra-vigilant about sensitive patient data to make sure it cannot be compromised by stolen or lost devices.
Cybersecurity is a concern for everyone as this world becomes more and more connected, but it's of particular concern in the area of senior living for a number of reasons. Here are a few reasons why senior living communities should worry about online security, and what can be done for each.
On May 3rd, a phishing campaign was launched where emails were sent to many corporate Google accounts. The emails contained a fake Google Docs link to grant permissions. When the recipient granted permission, the attack began sending out similar messages to the user’s contact list.
Phishing is big business - do you know how to spot it? One popular scam making its way across the nation has tricked an alarming 62 organizations already this year.
Spoofed email, phishing, ransomware and malware have exponentially increased in the last few years thanks to more sophisticated technology - and our defenses against these attacks have become more sophisticated as well. However, with new attacks launched every day, no product is perfect and in the end it's up to the user to decide whether or not to act on what the email is asking for.
