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.
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.