Minimize Risk – Four Tips and tricks to help improve your cyber security

Due to the changing environment in the health care industry, with ICD-10, EMR’s, etc., there are a lot of system, network, and technology changes/upgrades occurring.  While these changes are necessary and helpful to many facets of the business, they are also increasing organization’s cyber vulnerability.  The real question is, what can you do to help protect your agency or practice?  Today we will discuss four of the tips and tricks that you can implement to help improve the cyber security with your organization.  

1. Make sure all devices are password protected. Ensure that all devices that access your network are password protected. This means all computers, tablets, and cell phones, as well as the server that they are connecting to.
2. Ensure all passwords are changed frequently. While many employees get annoyed at having to change their password every 60-90 days, it is necessary to improve your cyber security. The rationale behind this lies in the location passwords are stored.  If a person were to gain access to that location, they would have little-to-no problem accessing your network at-will.  This would be similar to telling random strangers where the spare key to your house is.
3. Ensure all passwords are secure. There are reasons that most employers require you to choose a password that is more than eight characters and has at least one number, capitol letter, and lower-case letter, and isn’t the name of your family pet. This is because these passwords are much harder to crack and are more secure because of it.  If you have trouble coming up with a secure password, use a tool like the Norton Identity Safe Password Generator to help.
4. Make sure computers are not left un-locked. When someone gets up from their computer to go to a meeting, to the bathroom, or home for the night without locking their computer, they are leaving a vulnerable spot in your security. This would be similar to leaving your back door wide-open when you go to the grocery store.  While most computers have an automatic shutdown time, those usually require at least five minutes or more, which can be all an attacker needs to gain access.

There are firms that specialize in cyber security, so if you are really concerned and wanting to tackle the issue, or even just explore the topic further, reach out to one and see what they have to say.  For any additional questions on this or other topics feel free to email us at [email protected] or go to our website www.naranet.org.