In healthcare, ensuring cybersecurity is not just a concern for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). It includes a strategic approach to protecting sensitive information and systems, and this responsibility rests with various individuals within the organization. A cybersecurity strategy should be tailored to each organization, considering factors such as size, sector and industry-specific regulations. Despite these differences, the challenge of an organization with diverse teams with different expertise, cultures and priorities remains.
In the context of healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs), where biomedical professionals and support staff are integral to their daily operations, the relationship between cybersecurity and patient safety is critical. However, getting these individuals involved in cybersecurity discussions can be complicated by barriers such as:
Lack of understanding or technical background: Biomedical professionals may have limited knowledge of technology and cybersecurity and may not understand the impact of insecure systems and practices.
different priority: A biomedical practitioner’s primary focus is patient care, while a CISO’s primary focus is system and data protection.
resistance to change: Biomedical practitioners may resist workflow changes, especially if they believe security changes and measures will reduce their ability to deliver care.
time constraints: Clinical staff often have limited time and may not prioritize cybersecurity training and discussions.
To overcome these challenges, it’s important to take a proactive approach and communicate the benefits of the efforts your security team is making. Here are some strategies that have proven effective:
explain the risk: If you implement a significant change, please provide a clear reason behind the change. Highlighting the potential consequences if changes aren’t made, explaining the risks and why you’re doing what you’re doing now, builds a team of collaborators.
Focus on patient safety: Clarify the impact of your cybersecurity efforts on patient safety. Learn how securing systems improves patient safety by protecting sensitive information and ensuring system uptime that is resilient to cyberattacks. Taking devices offline for maintenance can be disruptive to clinical care, but working with medical staff to educate them about the implications for patient safety of unpatched devices can help. , can alleviate some of the operational pain associated with device downtime.
provide training: We provide training sessions to enable biomedical staff to understand the importance of cybersecurity and practical measures to ensure cybersecurity every day in both professional and personal settings. Educate your staff regularly on cybersecurity topics such as phishing and using strong passwords. Biomedical staff are often exposed to different cyber risks in healthcare settings than knowledge workers. Achieve maximum training effectiveness by ensuring that your training is tailored specifically to your target audience.
make available: Create an open communication environment. Make security controls transparent to deter risky behavior and encourage best practices. Establish connections with biomedical staff, answer their questions, and understand their concerns.
lead by example: Demonstrate the importance of security by following your team’s practices and encourage other teams to do the same with open cyber communications.
By taking these steps, biomedical staff will become more aware of the role of cybersecurity in their field and work together to increase patient safety, improve the organization’s security infrastructure, and ultimately make it more secure. You can build a safe and efficient medical environment.
in Claroty, we understand that establishing strong medical cybersecurity is no easy task. With experience working with many HDOs, the Claroty team brings a wealth of practical knowledge to optimize workflows and reduce time from engagement to value. We help our team improve his ROI while ensuring the highest quality of care in a secure digital environment.