Unlocking Digital Health: Mastering Asset Discovery in Healthtech

Healthcare organizations are highly dynamic environments embracing modern technologies to provide optimal patient care. However, despite improving patient care, additional technologies spread out sensitive data, creating more possible attack surfaces that cybercriminals can target. With the high value of healthcare data, these criminals focus extra attention on healthcare organizations, leading to an average of 1.99 data breaches daily of over 500 records.

Many of these breaches can be prevented by organizations identifying their assets, assessing them for vulnerabilities, and applying appropriate security controls. By just removing known vulnerabilities, healthcare organizations raise the difficulty for cybercriminals.

Despite the numerous security and privacy drivers in healthcare organizations to ensure every asset is locked down, some assets often slip through the cracks. This is particularly so for those dispersed across cloud environments like SaaS platforms. Modern healthcare infrastructure is no longer confined to a single site or data center. These organizations have embraced new technologies and cloud-based services to better meet their patients’ needs. Unfortunately, it has created a sprawl of technology that is harder to track and manage, leaving some assets that provide services without appropriate tracking and governance.

The modern healthcare landscape is technically complex, characterized by interconnected devices and systems that challenge even the most adept IT teams. Healthcare networks encompass various medical devices from different manufacturers with unique operating systems and software needs, making uniform asset management and security protocols difficult to implement.

It’s important to remember that many healthcare technologies are built to last decades, with some imaging technologies staying in service for almost 30 years. Many of these older systems were not designed with modern security practices in mind, and integrating older legacy systems like this with current state-of-the-art technologies adds another layer of complexity. These systems rarely seamlessly align and may require custom work to operate together.

Modern healthcare organizations also sprawl across numerous buildings and locations, creating massive organizational umbrellas for various care needs. This expansion has healthcare professionals accessing systems from diverse locations and utilizing many devices that complicate access points’ security and management. These systems pipe critical sensitive data constantly—from internal records to communications with external laboratories and insurance companies—and require precise mapping and security to safeguard patient information. The shift towards integrating virtual and cloud environments further complicates this landscape, introducing a dynamic where assets can be quickly modified, creating a fluid but challenging environment for asset management.

As part of integrating technology into healthcare operations, the organizations themselves have become more dynamic, incorporating new technologies as they become available to facilitate treatment and operations. As healthcare technology rapidly advances, organizations must keep pace with updates and seamlessly integrate cutting-edge medical technologies and IT solutions into their existing systems. This necessity for constant technological evolution underscores the importance of robust technology management and infrastructure scalability.

While many of these assets persist for a long time, they all have a lifecycle with an eventual end and require proper management to ensure data is removed. Doing this requires careful decommissioning and documentation of outdated systems to ensure security and compliance and the meticulous management of remote devices critical to services like telemedicine. These steps are essential to maintain operational integrity and security, particularly as healthcare organizations strive to expand and adapt without introducing security lapses.

The regulatory mandates overseeing patient data privacy are at the root of many healthcare security challenges. They mandate strict security controls that focus on maintaining the confidentiality of patient records. However, implementing these controls is impossible without knowing where all of their sensitive data resides. This challenge becomes even more complex for organizations with operations spanning international boundaries as they must navigate varying regulations across different regions, further complicating compliance efforts.

As part of maintaining compliance, these organizations must maintain a state of operational readiness to prepare for audits. This involves meticulous record-keeping of compliance activities and asset management.

In addition to the challenges posed by regulatory dynamics, healthcare organizations must address various security risks arising from human and technological vulnerabilities. Insider threats and phishing scams, where employees might mishandle sensitive information or be tricked by deceptive communications, are significant human-related risks.

Healthcare faces risks from ransomware attacks, which lock access to data until a ransom is paid, and from IoT vulnerabilities in connected medical devices that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access. Undiscovered assets are more likely targets for these attacks having exploitable vulnerabilities.

Untracked assets can also be targets of physical security breaches. When thieves target these devices, sensitive data can be lost without the organization knowing that anything was lost until it appears one day on a Darknet site.

Management issues in healthcare IT encompass a range of problems from Shadow IT to resource management. Shadow IT, where unauthorized devices and software are used without IT oversight, introduces security vulnerabilities and data leakage risks. This unauthorized technology can lead to mishandling or exposing sensitive information to security threats, complicating compliance with strict healthcare regulations.

Operational and maintenance challenges also arise, as a lack of official support for Shadow IT can increase the risk of system failures. Difficulties in disaster recovery become apparent when trying to restore data from these non-official sources, potentially leading to significant data loss and operational downtime.

Resource management becomes problematic with Shadow IT, as the unauthorized deployment of technology leads to inefficient use of organizational resources. This wastes financial resources and diverts IT efforts from strategic projects to managing and mitigating risks associated with unapproved technologies.

Policies form the foundation of healthcare IT, and enforcement requires a comprehensive strategy that ensures all staff consistently adhere to IT and security policies. This involves implementing robust monitoring and auditing systems that regularly evaluate adherence alongside incentives and penalties that reward compliance and address violations. Such measures help maintain a high standard of security discipline among employees.

Technological support also plays a crucial role. Advanced technology solutions can automate the enforcement of security policies and protocols, reducing the likelihood of human error and ensuring consistent application across the board. Feedback mechanisms should be in place to allow employees to communicate policy-related issues or suggestions, fostering a proactive security culture.

Educational initiatives are essential to complement these measures. Training and awareness programs must be continuously updated and provided to all staff members to inform them about the latest policies, practices, and potential security threats. This ongoing education helps build a knowledgeable workforce that effectively contributes to the organization’s security posture.

Many challenges in managing healthcare privacy and security stem from inadequate visibility and control over digital assets. Proper discovery processes that accurately identify and catalog all assets within healthcare IT ecosystems are critical. Organizations can significantly enhance their security posture by bringing these assets into structured management processes. This thorough asset management allows for targeted security measures, better compliance with stringent privacy regulations, and more effective monitoring and mitigation of potential vulnerabilities, safeguarding sensitive patient data and healthcare operations.

For Healthtech companies leveraging cloud infrastructure, integrating tools with services like AWS or Cloudflare is essential for maintaining accurate and reliable asset lists. This integration enhances operational efficiency by streamlining workflows and optimizing resource utilization, reducing redundancies, and improving overall operational dynamics. These tools allow for seamless operations, ensuring that Healthtech organizations can manage their assets more efficiently without disruption.

Integrating sophisticated security tools with cloud services facilitates enhanced security measures, enabling quick detection and response to potential threats. This proactive approach to security helps safeguard sensitive data integral to healthcare operations, mitigating risks and enhancing the trustworthiness of the Healthtech infrastructure.

Regarding data management and compliance, easy integration with cloud services ensures access to real-time, accurate asset information. This capability is crucial for maintaining compliance with stringent healthcare regulations and simplifying the audit processes. By having consistent and immediate access to asset data, Healthtech companies can ensure they meet regulatory standards more effectively, reducing the risk of compliance issues and enhancing the efficiency of audit-related tasks.

The continuous discovery of new assets is crucial as technological landscapes evolve rapidly. This ongoing process ensures that IT environments are consistently monitored and updated, enhancing operational effectiveness and reliability. By keeping asset records current, Healthtech organizations can maintain a complete overview of their systems, which is vital for system reliability and ensuring that all components function as expected.

The necessity for continuous discovery also extends to security and compliance. Regular asset updates aid in rapidly detecting and mitigating vulnerabilities, which is essential for maintaining robust security measures. Keeping asset inventories current helps organizations meet compliance requirements by ensuring all assets adhere to regulatory standards.

From a resource management perspective, continuous asset monitoring allows Healthtech companies to optimize resource utilization and reduce waste. This cuts costs and improves the efficiency of the healthcare services provided.

Utilizing tools that provide asset risk classification is crucial for effectively identifying and prioritizing the protection of high-risk assets, enhancing threat management, and ensuring regulatory compliance. A risk-based focus helps drive cybersecurity strategies to their most exposed assets, helping organizations more efficiently manage potential threats and adhere to stringent regulations.

Strategically, these tools aid in long-term security planning, helping organizations prepare for future cybersecurity challenges. This strategic planning is essential for maintaining the integrity and security of sensitive health data and systems over time.

Moreover, risk classification supports optimal resource utilization. By concentrating security efforts and investments on areas of highest risk, organizations ensure that their security measures are effective and cost-efficient. Prioritizing high-risk assets not only streamlines security operations but also maximizes the impact of these efforts.

Probely offers a suite of security testing tools designed for the healthcare industry’s challenges. These tools integrate seamlessly into various development environments, enhancing continuous integration and advocating for a proactive “Shift Left” approach. This method emphasizes the importance of early and ongoing security assessments throughout the software development lifecycle, aiming to identify and mitigate security risks well before production.

With Probely, organizations can leverage automated security scanning to simplify and enhance the process of identifying and addressing vulnerabilities from the early stages of development to deployment. This automation covers a comprehensive range of testing services, including static and dynamic analysis and specialized assessments designed for the complexities of API environments.

Schedule a demo today to see how Probely can help your organization uncover its true software security posture.