Cybersecurity: More than Your Credit Card Information

October 8, 2015

Categories: Thought Leadership

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Cybersecurity is a word we see on the nightly news, read on our internet homepages, and hear our friends talking about. More often than not, we learn of companies being breached, as hackers gain access to important personal information like credit card numbers. But the risk isn’t just limited to our wallets. In an age where digital is taking over, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important as something we as individuals, companies, countries, etc. need to consider as we continue to move into a world where digitization rules.

Recognizing the importance of cybersecurity to our nation, President Obama designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. To commemorate the month, corporations and groups across the nation have come together with the common goal to educate, discuss, and share best practices and tools to keep users safe and protected in the digital space. Topics touched upon throughout the month include online safety and general awareness, establishing a culture of cybersecurity at work, understanding our evolving digital lives and building the next generation of cyber professionals (a topic we touched on in a July blog post).

In the health care industry, we uniquely risk our patients’ personal and private information falling into the wrong hands if the proper security measures are not taken. Protection of medical records is arguably the second most important step in a health care setting, only playing second to patient care. From medical history to current medication, the potential problems for our patients entered into databases without proper security measures, managed by professionals without proper cybersecurity knowledge and training, are endless.

“Since our way of life depends on critical infrastructure and the digital technology that operates it, cybersecurity is one of our country’s most important national security priorities, and we each have a role to play—cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.” – Department of Homeland Security

National Cybersecurity Month is a great step toward increased awareness of the threats not only to our credit cards, but to the health and safety of our nation. What kind of measures would you like to see in healthcare IT cybersecurity in the coming years? Tell us your thoughts by commenting or finding us on Twitter @CNSICorp