The rapid growth of technology has made it increasingly difficult to comprehensively plan for cyber security as cyber threats against the healthcare industry are rising. Ensuring everyone on the staff has adequate training for cyber security is a vital part of this plan and should not be overlooked. This may seem different than having a firewall or regularly updating software, but the advantages are tremendous.
Employees are essential to defending against cyber attacks but can also be a considerable security risk to businesses. Recent reports show that most medical organizations' internal threats are accidental, with numerous personnel unknowingly engaging in dangerous online activities.
Staff awareness of best cybersecurity and data protection practices and a thorough understanding of organizational security protocols are the basis of a solid training program and crucial to each organization's cybersecurity plan.
How Can You Create a Robust Cybersecurity Training Program?
No two healthcare organizations are the same. These institutions vary in services offered, size and patient population, and the systems they run. Since each institution is unique, finding or creating a one-size-fits-all training strategy for cybersecurity is impossible.
However, the threats faced by many organizations often have similar features. Therefore, it makes sense to share information so that healthcare institutions can educate their staff to maintain a safe and secure network.
Here are some excellent ways to design an effective educational security awareness training and cybersecurity program:
1. Understand the most common ways that breaches occur.
- Educate employees about the dangers of accessing sensitive healthcare information on public computers or unsecured network connections.
- Help them avoid unsafe online behaviors like ignoring virus protection prompts, clicking on pop-up ads, visiting suspicious websites or opening attachments from unknown senders, and using the same password across multiple sites.
- Encourage physical precautions to prevent accidental disclosure of private healthcare information, such as consistently logging out of systems after use and following organizational policies regarding device-sharing.
2. Identify common cybersecurity threats, including how they are executed.
- Employees must become familiar with the red flags for different cyberattacks like social engineering, phishing, ransomware, spyware, and other information security vulnerabilities.
- Train them to distinguish dubious URLs or domain names and avoid responding to unsolicited emails asking for personal information, including messages threatening or offering highly improbable rewards in exchange for clicking on attached links.
- Similarly, employees must learn how to prevent cybercriminals from using social media to extract any information that can help them guess passwords and breach accounts.
3. Implement technical safeguards to prevent cybercriminals from accessing protected health information (PHI).
- Deploy advanced solutions such as two-factor or multi-factor authentication, data encryption, and system lockouts.
- Share workflows on how employees can report suspicious behaviors and actions so that cybersecurity professionals can step in and respond accordingly.
Other Things To Consider in Building a Training Program
If you still have trouble determining which training components to focus on, remember that HIPAA requires its covered entities to hold security risk assessments regularly. These evaluations can help an organization understand its cybersecurity needs further to create a training program better suited to its demands.
When organizing the training program, it is essential to prioritize activities that keep employees engaged and interested. For instance, a classroom-based program might work best if your staff responds best to face-to-face communication. Otherwise, you can hold remote training sessions with easy-to-process visual aids for a more affordable strategy.
Finally, some healthcare organizations prefer simulating attacks and having employees deal with them in real-time. The simulated experience helps them remember red flags and change their long-term behavior toward threat management.
A Final Word on Cybersecurity Training in Healthcare
A proficient and educated team can significantly help healthcare organizations guard against cybercrime. By setting up a thorough cybersecurity training program, organizations can ensure that their employees are an asset, not a risk.
Trainers must acknowledge that people have different levels of technical proficiency. It is crucial that everyone can easily understand the training lessons and materials used in the program. Keeping the lessons focused on essential information and avoiding technical language can help employees better understand and remember the lessons.
