MEDICINSKI GLASNIK

More documents

Recommendations

Info

262 Medicinski Glasnik, Volumen 6, Number 2, August 2009 INTRODUCTION Security vulnerabilities concerning personal data in medical information and communication technology (ICT) systems can negatively impact patient healthcare, but may also represent a potential law violation (1). Data stored in the institutional ICT systems are more or less protected by different mechanisms and supervised by system administrators. Main computers with databases are usually stored in secured, air-conditioned and dedicated locations. Data safety and security mostly depend on institutional policy by means of time and resources invested in data protection. This is not the case with data stored in portable personal computers (PC). While wide adoption of mobile computing technology can improve information access and enhance workflow (2), the data stored in portable computing devices are more accessible to potential attackers and thieves, physically but also using malicious software (3). In addition, such data are at higher risk of physical damage due to frequent transportation. The user and his/her portable device constitute a closed system, which is often connected to other systems using different network environments with various security levels. The vulnerability of such systems depends immensely on user awareness about potential threats. Security risk behaviour of portable PC users might be a threat for their working environment. The aim of this pilot study was to compare knowledge about security threats, analyse the frequency of making backups and investigate user habits in dealing with security issues in two research groups and teaching staff, namely the portable PC users coming from the following different environments: School of Medicine and School of Electrical Engineering. Users working in the field of medicine are compared with users that have a much better technical knowledge background. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS There was a total of 39 researchers and teaching staff of the J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek - School of Medicine (n=19) and School of Electrical Engineering (n=20) who own or use official (school owned) portable PC on a regular basis and who participated in this pilot study. Participants were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire comprising 21 questions about basic demographic data, years of using a PC, years of owning/using portable PCs, position at the School, habits in dealing with security issues and knowledge about potential security threats. The main demographic characteristics, years of using a PC, years of owning/using a portable PC and a distribution by the position at the School did not differ between groups (Table 1). Data were presented as absolute frequencies, means with standard deviations and medians with interquartile range where appropriate. Differences in numerical attributes were tested with Student’s t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Differences in categorical attributes were tested with Fisher’s exact test. All P values were two tailed. Analyses were conducted using the SAS software (version 8.02, Cary, NC, USA), with significance level set at P
Table2. Internet related security issues Security issue School of Medicine (n=19) School of Electrical Engineering (n=20) Accessing Internet services via public computers with questionable protection on an exceptional basis 8 10 very rarely 5 6 0.877 often 5 4 don’t care about that 1 0 Internet banking user User of international 13 15 0.731 Web-based e-mail services 13 13 >0.950 Shopping on the Internet * Fisher’s exact test 11 10 0.751 national Web-based e-mail services (like Gmail, Yahoo or other). However, public computers with questionable protection were used for accessing Internet services on an exceptional basis or very rarely in both groups of participants (Table 2). Eleven out of 19 participants from the School of Medicine and 17 out of 20 from the School of Electrical Engineering set a password on their portable PCs (Fisher exact test, p=0.082). Four participants from each institution respectively made security backups more than once a week. The distribution of frequency of making security backups did not differ between the institutions Table 3. Security issues related to backing up data and protection against malicious software Security issue School of Medicine (n=19) School of Electrical Engineering (n=20) Frequency of making security backups of important documents, No never 1 1 very rarely 2 1 from time to time once in a month 12 0 7 5 0.083 once in a week 0 2 more frequently 4 4 Type of security software installed, No antivirus 16 18 0.661 anti-spyware 8 13 0.205 spam filter 7 5 0.501 firewall 11 13 0.748 Number of various types of security software installed, No none 1 2 1 7 2 2 3 5 0.263 3 3 7 4 * Fisher’s exact test 5 4 p* p* Šolić et al Security Perception of a Portable PC User (Fisher’s exact test, p=0.083). The same could be said for the distribution of number of various types of security software installed (Fisher’s exact test, p=0.263). The majority of participants from both institutions were using antivirus software (Table 3). Most participants in both surveyed groups (14 at School of Medicine group and 18 at School of Electrical Engineering group) were familiar with the fact that e-mail messages were easily intercepted in Internet communication (Fisher’s exact test, p=0.235). Participants from the School of Electrical Engineering showed a higher level of knowledge in three questions dealing with terms “hoax”, “phishing” and “encryption” (Table 4) DISCUSSION The results of this pilot study indicate that working environment and background do not have a great impact on behaviour of highly educated portable PC users in connection with security issues. Internet security presents a challenge in many fields of human activity, from commerce, education to e-Health (4,5). Accessing Internet services such as Internet banking or Web based e-mail client via public computers with questionable protection is a serious threat to users’ important and Table 4. Answers to knowledge questions School of Question Medicine (n=19) Do you know what is HOAX? School of Electrical Engineering (n=20) never heard of it 12 8 heard, but don’t know 4 0 heard, but not sure 1 3 yes, I know 2 9 Do you know what is PHISHING? never heard of it 10 2 heard, but don’t know 4 3 heard, but not sure 1 2 yes, I know 4 13 Do you know what the data encryption is? never heard of it 3 0 heard, but don’t know 3 0 heard, but not sure 0 2 yes, I know * Fisher’s exact test 13 18 p* 0.011 0.008 0.006 263
Page 1 and 2:
MEDICINSKI GLASNIK Official publica
Page 3 and 4:
Medicinski Glasnik Official Publica
Page 5:
Case report Erratum 284 227 Influen
Page 8 and 9:
148 Medicinski Glasnik, Volumen 6,
Page 10 and 11:
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
166 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effect of inoc
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
188 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Evaluacija dij
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73: 212 Medicinski Glasnik, Volumen 6,
Page 78 and 79: 218 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Smoking is the
Page 116 and 117: 256 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Oral health of
Page 144: 284 ERRATUM Quality of the cardiova
show all

MEDICINSKI GLASNIK

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?