Medical state structures and commercial organizations have daily access to many personal data, including date of birth, first and last name of patients and staff, marital status. The issue of security is particularly acute in front of medical institutions, where data such as diagnoses, research results, and medical histories are collected and stored. The introduction of new technologies in healthcare increases the likelihood of information leakage and theft. This article will discuss how to protect data, prospects for information security, and methods of strengthening it.
Many data in medical organizations fall into the category of medical secrecy. These include personal information about employees and customers. Disclosure of health information can cause consequences. Hackers use stolen data for fraudulent purposes, sell it on the black market, or blackmail organizations that leaked it. The number of tools that allow tracking patient status data has increased dramatically over the past few years. This has become possible thanks to the development of cloud technologies, mobile devices, and the ability to store data arrays online.
There are a number of advantages to using mobile devices. Mobile medical technologies have also significantly improved the quality of patient care. Users have the opportunity to learn more information about their bodies and, accordingly, take better care of their health. At the same time, the costs of medical organizations are reduced. But medical institutions should understand how and where the information generated by gadgets is stored. Doctors state the need to integrate medical equipment into a single computerized network. There are several patented systems from different suppliers, but they cannot interact, creating inpatient care difficulties. If medical devices do not exchange measurements, the medical institution staff cannot assess the patient’s condition comprehensively, which creates significant inconvenience. Integration and support of the local network will make it possible to coordinate the work of medical devices and information systems, especially when interacting with an electronic medical card.
The theft of medical data is fraught with the following consequences. For example, the information of a thief may be entered into the card. As a result, the patient risks receiving help based on someone else’s medical history, blood type, intolerance, and allergic reaction. Moreover, fraudsters can exhaust the insurance limit, and the rightful owner will lose the opportunity to receive medical care at the most inopportune time. Most insurance plans have restrictions on certain types of services. For example, an insurance company will refuse to pay for two surgical procedures to remove appendicitis (Giansanti, 2021). If there are no problems with eliminating mass cyber-attacks on bank cards, then protection from phishing attacks will require a lot of effort. The theft of an electronic medical card may go unnoticed at all. And if this fact is discovered, then, as a rule, in situations where the consequences are life-threatening.
Several software components and mechanisms are used to protect patient data. To prevent unauthorized access, authorization tools are being deployed, intrusion detection and prevention systems are being implemented, and information leaks. Antivirus software can be installed. There is a successful practice of using firewalls. Cryptographic means of protection include data encryption algorithms and the introduction of an electronic digital signature. Authentication systems involve introducing password protection, signing certificates, and opening access to biometric data. Analysis tools involve the introduction of software for monitoring. The technical ones include the comprehensive implementation of technical means of protection (Cuchta et al., 2019). The uninterruptible power supply system involves installing, maintaining uninterruptible power supplies, installing voltage generators, and load redundancy. To prevent hacking and theft, special means are used, including electronic keys and smart cards. These technologies make it possible to increase the level of protection of the information system at the authentication stage.
In general, NIST states that the Structure functions to assist the organization in managing cybersecurity risks by organizing information, exchanging confidential information, and making decisions on cybersecurity risk management. The Platform Core Protection function is important because its purpose is to develop and implement appropriate safeguards to ensure critical infrastructure services (Ambore et al., 2017). The Protection feature supports limiting or limiting the impact of a potential cybersecurity event. Because violations are becoming more common, appropriate protocols and policies to reduce the risk of violation become especially important.
The World Wide Technology company has developed a special tablet computer that integrates voice transmission with radio frequency identification technology. Thanks to this combination, medical personnel could communicate with each other and patients via Bluetooth (Al-Muhtadi, et al., 2019). In addition, a special RFID tag is embedded in the badge on the medical coat and in the tablet, by which the doctor can determine the location of a colleague at any time.
I agree with the use of portable devices in healthcare. These devices will be very relevant for patients suffering from chronic diseases and need constant monitoring. At the same time, the doctor can monitor the physical indicators of the patient and support him morally, which is very important for elderly and lonely people. Mobile communication tools are also used when working with people who have AIDS. With the help of mobile devices, a special course of psychotherapy is conducted that does not require the personal presence of the patient, which removes a very important barrier and allows a person to open up and talk about their problems.
References
Ambore, S., Richardson, C., Dogan, H., Apeh, E., & Osselton, D. (2017). A resilient cybersecurity framework for Mobile Financial Services (MFS). Journal of Cyber Security Technology, 1(3-4), 202-224. Web.
Al-Muhtadi, J., Shahzad, B., Saleem, K., Jameel, W., & Orgun, M. A. (2019). Cybersecurity and privacy issues for socially integrated mobile healthcare applications operating in a multi-cloud environment. Health informatics journal, 25(2), 315-329. Web.
Cuchta, T., Blackwood, B., Devine, T. R., Niichel, R. J., Daniels, K. M., Lutjens, C. H.,… & Stephenson, R. J. (2019). Human Risk Factors in Cybersecurity. In Proceedings of the 20th Annual SIG Conference on Information Technology Education (pp. 87-92). Web.
Giansanti, D. (2021). Cybersecurity and the Digital-Health: The Challenge of This Millennium. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 62). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. Web.