In an era of increasing digitization, the healthcare industry faces a growing threat: ransomware attacks.
As healthcare operations rely more heavily on digital tools and centralized systems, the risk associated with cybersecurity breaches, particularly ransomware, has escalated dramatically.
A recent article by Becker's Health IT highlights this vulnerability, noting that healthcare is often ill-equipped to handle such threats effectively.
"We used to think of healthcare IT as just another tool in the toolbox, but what we've done is built a brand new toolbox filled with digital tools. Now, when someone steals our toolbox, we can't get the job done anymore," says Dr. Christian Demeff, an emergency physician and medical director of cybersecurity at UC San Diego Health.
According to the HIPAA Journal, the healthcare industry has experienced a dramatic rise in data breaches in recent years.
“There was no letup in cyberattacks on healthcare organizations in 2023, which set two new records – The most reported data breaches and the most breached records. In 2023, 725 data breaches were reported to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and across those breaches, more than 133 million records were exposed or impermissibly disclosed,” reads the HIPAA Journal.
The shift is clear to many veterans of the industry. Unfortunately, many IT teams are unprepared to handle the onslaught of cyber attacks.
However, implementing Business Process Automation (BPA) and Document Management Solutions (DMS) can help mitigate these risks by enhancing security protocols and improving operational resilience.
However, implementing technical solutions like a DMS or a BPA can be daunting. If you don’t know where to start, look no further than Green Office Partner.
At Green Office Partner, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients across the United States and Canada, many of which make security their number one priority. We are acutely aware of the significant vulnerabilities many businesses have that leave them open to ransomware attacks.
In this article, we’ll review how document solutions can help protect healthcare organizations from growing ransomware threats and how you can take advantage of the many benefits a DMS offers.
Understanding the Ransomware Threat in Healthcare
According to Dr. Christian Dameff, the threat posed by ransomware goes beyond just breaches of protected health information.
Ransomware attacks can directly impair the ability of healthcare providers to deliver patient care, disrupting critical services and making it difficult for healthcare professionals to do their jobs.
As Dr. Dameff explained to Becker's Health IT, healthcare IT systems have become an essential part of the "toolbox" that providers rely on to deliver care. When these systems are compromised, it’s as if the entire toolbox has been stolen, leaving providers unable to function.
In recent years, the frequency of ransomware attacks on healthcare institutions has increased dramatically. The impact of ransomware has been devastating, often crippling the ability of healthcare providers to treat patients effectively and efficiently.
Dr. Dameff emphasized that most hospitals lack the necessary protocols, procedures, and IT infrastructure to respond swiftly to such incidents, underscoring the urgent need for better preparedness and response strategies.
How Business Process Automation (BPA) Solutions Mitigate Ransomware Risks
When it comes to embracing a secure document workflow, there are countless vulnerabilities that less diligent IT support teams may miss. Patching up your security shortcomings requires consistent and repetitive small tasks that can be easily neglected.
This is why Business Process Automation (BPA) is crucial to a solid security strategy, as it uses technology to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows.
Here are some of the primary areas that BPA can enhance your security and reduce the risk of ransomware:
1. Reducing Human Error Through Automation
People will make mistakes. There’s no getting around it.
Unfortunately, many ransomware attacks exploit human error, such as clicking on a sketchy link or downloading a harmful attachment.
BPA minimizes these risks by automating routine tasks that might otherwise require manual intervention, which reduces the likelihood of employees interacting with potentially harmful content.
Automated workflows ensure that documents and communications are handled securely without the need for direct user interaction that could expose the system to threats.
2. Enhancing System Monitoring and Alerts
Potential threats to your security can be mitigated with proactive monitoring.
However, that’s easier said than done. This type of monitoring takes significant time and effort from your team and can be challenging to keep up with manually.
That’s where BPA solutions can shine. Through automation, businesses can enhance system monitoring by providing real-time alerts and automated responses to suspicious activities.
For example, if an unusual pattern of document access is detected, the system can automatically lock down sensitive files and alert IT staff to investigate.
This proactive approach can prevent ransomware from spreading across the network by identifying and responding to threats early, minimizing potential damage.
3. Streamlining Incident Response
When a ransomware attack occurs, a swift response is necessary.
Luckily, a BPA can streamline incident response by automating key steps in your organization’s protocol. This might include isolating affected systems, notifying relevant stakeholders, and initiating backup and recovery procedures.
By automating these processes, your team won’t need to scramble frantically when an incident occurs. When parts of the protocol are automated, your team can immediately respond by containing the attack and mitigating its impact.
How Document Management Solutions (DMS) Mitigate Ransomware Risks
Document Management Solutions offer a centralized platform for storing, managing, and accessing documents. Much like business process automation, a DMS can also play a crucial role in mitigating ransomware risks.
We’ll review the main ways a DMS can save your healthcare organization from disaster.
4. Centralized and Secure Document Storage
A DMS offers centralized storage with advanced security features like encryption, access controls, and user authentication. This secure environment makes it more difficult for ransomware to access and encrypt critical documents.
By controlling who can access sensitive information and ensuring that all documents are stored securely, a DMS reduces the risk of unauthorized access and potential exploitation by ransomware.
5. Automated Backup and Disaster Recovery
One of the key strategies for mitigating ransomware attacks is having robust backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plans in place.
A DMS can automate the process of backing up documents to secure, offsite locations, ensuring that copies of critical data are always available.
In the aftermath of a ransomware attack, these backups can be used to restore affected documents, minimizing downtime and financial loss. Automated routines ensure that backups are performed consistently and reliably, reducing the risk of data loss from human error.
6. Audit Trails and Activity Monitoring
When disaster strikes, always ensure you have a paper trail to follow.
A DMS provides comprehensive audit trails and activity monitoring, which are essential for preventing attacks. Should something happen, you’ll be able to see exactly where the data breach came from.
By tracking all document-related activities—such as who accessed, modified, or deleted files—a DMS can help identify suspicious behavior that might indicate a ransomware attack.
These logs can also provide valuable forensic data that can be used to understand the scope of an attack and prevent future incidents.
7. Data Encryption and Secure Sharing
Ransomware often targets unencrypted data that can be easily accessed and held hostage.
Encrypting data is an easy step for your team to miss. Thankfully, a DMS can mitigate this risk by ensuring that all data is automatically encrypted both in transit and at rest.
Less human error means more secure data sharing.
Additionally, secure document-sharing features can prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information, reducing the risk of ransomware exploiting shared documents or files.
The Need for Enhanced Cybersecurity Measures in Healthcare
As highlighted by Becker's Health IT, the healthcare sector is particularly vulnerable to ransomware attacks due to its reliance on digital systems and the sensitive nature of the data it handles.
Insights published by the Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council in “Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients” underscores the need for healthcare organizations to adopt more robust cybersecurity measures, including BPA and DMS solutions. The document highlights the complexity of modern healthcare IT security.
“Cybersecurity is no longer a one-step solution. Rather, it is vital that the entire Healthcare and Public Health Sector (HPH) sector has a cybersecurity strategy, including a zero trust approach,” reads the document.
While BPA and DMS tools cannot eliminate the threat of ransomware entirely, they can significantly reduce the risk and impact of an attack by automating key processes, enhancing monitoring and response capabilities, and ensuring that data is securely stored and readily recoverable.
Green Office Partner’s Security Offerings
Ransomware poses a serious threat to healthcare organizations, impacting both data security and the clinic's ability to deliver critical patient care.
Navigating the complexities of today’s cyber environment can be daunting. If you aren’t sure where to start, consider connecting with our team of document workflow professionals.
Green Office Partner is well-equipped to help you mitigate these risks by automating routine tasks, enhancing security protocols, and ensuring rapid response capabilities. For more information on our solutions related to automation, click here.
By investing in these solutions, healthcare organizations can better protect themselves against ransomware and continue to provide high-quality care in an increasingly digital world.
Contact us today to get started on protecting your organization, your staff, and your patients.