Innovations in mobility, cloud, and machine-to-machine (M2M) technology have allowed healthcare organizations to transform how they do business and care for patients. But those same technologies can leave organizations and their valuable data vulnerable. Verizon’s intelligence-driven security tools and solutions address the demands of a volatile security environment.
“It’s a fact all businesses must face: cyber attacks happen. And they happen often, threatening data of all types,” said Wade Baker, director and chief technology officer at Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “Anticipating when an incident might occur and assessing whether you’re prepared to defend against it can make all the difference.”
Healthcare organizations are most concerned with physical theft/loss, insider misuse and miscellaneous errors, according to Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report.
“The primary root cause of incidents resulting in a loss of sensitive information assets is carelessness of one degree or another,” said Baker. “Accidents happen. People lose stuff. People steal stuff. And that’s never going to change.”
Healthcare organizations can do basic things to avoid security troubles such as encrypting devices; encouraging employees to keep sensitive devices in their possession and in sight at all times; setting up automatic backup; and securing equipment to immovable fixtures or creating a separate, secure area where the data can be housed, Baker said.
But Verizon’s security solutions and tools go far beyond the basics. Verizon uses an intelligence-driven security strategy to help monitor and analyze the changing security scenario; discover and plug security holes; and respond to security breaches.
Verizon uses three types of intelligence at the core of its intelligence-driven process: strategic – related to attack tactics and methods; tactical – related to threat actors and the tactics, techniques and procedures they employ; and applied - which is a combination of both strategic and tactical intelligence applied to a particular context.
Verizon’s security and solutions team integrates the insights gained from the intelligence into the policies, protocols and controls it incorporates into a security strategy tailored to the specific healthcare organization.
That security strategy will help healthcare organizations by
· developing secure configurations
· remediating vulnerability
· stopping many attacks early by breaking the attack chain
· inserting malware defenses
· monitoring the network consistently
· evaluating actionable intelligence
· integrating advanced threat detection
· mitigating the impact of an attack quickly and effectively
· providing a framework for incident response
· recovering data where possible
· offering feedback for preventing future attacks
How does Verizon do this?
With a workforce of more than 550 security consultants in 25 countries for global reach and local expertise, Verizon collects tactical and operational intelligence using its own network assets, forensic data and external sources to analyze, on average, 61 billion security events each year. The company also maintains an extensive threat library and operates seven state-of-the-art security operations centers to manage security events and investigations each month.
Verizon understands that healthcare providers are continually looking for ways to improve patient care and keep data secure. Verizon is, too, according to Baker. “We work with the best minds in the industry, using the latest technologies to develop solutions that address difficult challenges like protecting patient data,” he said.
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About Verizon: Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 108 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.
