Forward Advantage is an authorized reseller of privileged access managed solutions for both internal and external parties– learn how they work together to secure access to your organization.
As a critical industry, healthcare is a prime target for cybercriminal activity. In fact, a recent TechTarget article states that healthcare experiences the most negative effects from a data breach compared to any other sector. Lives depend on hospital systems running without interruption, and this creates a more likely scenario for paid ransom demands which perpetuates the problem. Healthcare is not only vulnerable to external threats but also to attacks that originate from inappropriate employee and third-party vendor access. This is because healthcare has such an expansive and revolving network which includes new hires, temporary employees, remote workers, and a variety of vendors – all requiring different levels of access to your systems at different times. In addition, cybersecurity insurance requirements are increasingly demanding organizations have systems in place to control this.
Below, we’ve compiled the need-to-know information for securing both internal and external access.
Choose the right solution for securing internal, external and third-party access
Privileged Access Management for internal access
Did you know that at least 70% of data breaches involve compromised privileged credentials? A privileged access management solution (PAM) secures internal privileged accounts within your organization by incorporating the principle of least privilege. By giving end users just enough access to do their jobs starting on day one, you greatly minimize the risk of data breach from compromised credentials. When employees are terminated or leave their jobs, these privileges can be revoked just as easily.
Privileged Access Management for vendors and third parties
Most healthcare organizations will need to extend enterprise access to third-party identities like vendors, partners, and contractors, requiring a secure and proven solution. Traditionally, remote access methods like VPNs or desktop sharing have been used for third-party access, but these typically lack the proper controls and monitoring to prevent security gaps (and the bad actors who exploit them). A solution for managing access from third parties will:
Ensure third parties have access to only what they need.
Provide highly granular access controls and secure credential management.
Enable session monitoring to record and monitor all activity.
Best practices for implementing access controls
Imprivata shares a list of best practices for adding and implementing access controls across the enterprise. Below is a brief recap of these tips.
Automate the user access lifecycle Automating user access management processes helps ensure that employees can only access when it’s needed for legitimate business purposes – starting on day one.
Partner with trusted vendors
Partnering with a trusted vendor with a record of proven results for all your access management needs can streamline your security access suite. This includes identity and access management, privileged access management, data protection, authentication and authorization management, and mobile device management.
Empower your employees with consistent day-one access
Healthcare isn’t an industry that allows for downtime, including employee downtime. You need a solution that easily and securely provides employees with access on day one, and that access should be just as easy to terminate.
Install policy-based controls Well-defined access policies, coupled with role-based controls based on an individual’s job duties, make it much harder for hackers or unauthorized users to breach sensitive data.
Maintain visibility into the actions vendors are performing on your network
Your critical systems and data are at risk if third-party remote access is not controlled to ensure they don’t access more than is necessary and for longer than necessary.
Eliminate password fatigue
An access management solution that secures privileged credentials by collecting, storing, and indexing account access helps eliminate password fatigue that is all-too common in healthcare.
Implement Zero Trust – and cut cyber insurance costs Multifactor authentication, user access provisioning, and privileged access management are three features that providers look for when considering your policy costs.
We recently asked Trevor Clere, Director of IT at Wooster Community Hospital to share some insights into their recent implementation of Imprivata Privileged Access Management and Vendor Privileged Access Management – Read the full Q & A here.
The takeaway
As a critical industry, healthcare is a prime target for cybersecurity attacks – and most of these originate from compromised or abused privileged credentials. Healthcare is a revolving door of new hires, temporary employees, and remote workers. It is essential that these employees have just enough access to do their jobs from day one and that privileges are quickly and easily revoked when no longer needed. The same logic applies to any third parties requiring critical access to your systems. From vendors, to partners, to contractors – their access needs to be granular, easily auditable, and only as long as necessary.
Forward Advantage is an authorized reseller of both Imprivata's Privileged Access Management and Vendor Privileged Access Management, so customers can get the full benefits of securing both internal and external access.
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