Innovation i tech High

SECURITY
But it even goes beyond external threats. Equally
important is making sure the organisation is
insulated from mistakes by both well-meaning
employees and malicious insiders. Busy staff
members are bound to make mistakes regarding
PHI. With the ubiquity of email, it’s not uncommon
to find a breach where employees accidentally (or
carelessly) attached a spreadsheet or document
containing PHI. A mistake like this could result
in personal harm or defamation and will have
severe implications for healthcare professionals
in countries that have data protection laws in
place.
To prevent brand damage, fines, and audits,
healthcare organisations must actively seek
to identify and prevent PHI from leaving the
organisation without the proper safeguards in
place. However, this can be a monumental task
without the right technology. For email, Mimecast
recently introduced data loss prevention (DLP)
capabilities that can help address this challenge.
Healthcare organisations can scan, identify
and take action on emails containing PHI.
These actions include holding the message for
review, encrypting the content, applying secure
messaging between parties, converting the files
and more. As part of the service, Mimecast can
notify the sender, recipient, and administrator of
a message flagged as containing PHI.
Ensuring that PHI does not leave the organisation
without the proper encryption and safeguards
is just as essential as securing against external
attackers. Healthcare is the only industry where
employees are the predominant threat of a
breach.
The healthcare sector is at major risk. The time
is now for them to rethink cyber security and
implement strategies that make them resilient and
prepared for both internal and external threats.
About the Author
By Brandon Bekker, Managing Director at
Mimecast, Africa and the Middle East
INNOVATIONANDTECH
January | 2018
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