Fortifying Healthcare Data with Modern IT

By CIOReview | Monday, March 26, 2018

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Healthcare data is increasing exponentially as organizations aggregate more data from smart devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) appliances for big data analytics. Secure storage of patient data is imperative, and the health IT infrastructures require to be expanded to accommodate the surging data. Cybersecurity intrusions and breaches are significant risks to patient data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. Moreover, these malicious attacks on data cause a bevy of problems including limiting Health and Human Services’ (HHS) ability to provide necessary services and programs. All requisite security actions must be enforced by the department to fortify all HHS data and thwart the risks of data intrusion.

Ensuring that infrastructure systems are properly updated and fittingly deployed for the storages in which they are utilized are imperative for effectively protecting HHS systems. With the rapid adoption of cloud across the healthcare industry, organizations now have access to expanded storage capacity without needing to invest in costly on-premise equipment. However, as data is migrated to cloud, the security practices and measures that deemed fit for on-premise storage, are no longer effective for data on the cloud. Outdated IT infrastructure can result in a number of data security vulnerabilities including incompetent configuration management, data encryption, access controls, website security and more. Modern IT infrastructure is key to tackling these challenges. Healthcare programs and projects are increasingly becoming dependent on IT infrastructure with healthcare organizations continuously updating to progress with value-based medical research and initiatives. Legacy systems often create loopholes in health data security. As a result, organizations are inclining towards adopting advanced technologies and systems that are designed for modern healthcare IT.