Every day, thousands of new medical devices are connecting to hospital networks. Take a minute to imagine the amount of data these IoT devices are generating, transferring and storing in addition to data from Electronic Health Records (EHR), clinical workstations and smart hospital applications. All of that data needs protecting.

What is IoT? Internet of Things technology refers to devices collecting information, communicating it to a network and, in some cases, completing a task—like unlocking doors using a smartphone application.

What used to be the realm of science fiction is now real.

Hackers might use an unprotected infusion pump on the network as a gateway to a hospital’s data. A staff member might unknowingly download a malicious PDF attachment from an email. Or perhaps a virus has been lurking undetected in your network for some time. Securing an ever-changing and complex IT infrastructure can be overwhelming. With the expanding attack surface in healthcare, threats are getting more serious —and healthcare organizations must find ways to address them.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Step 1: Identify. It’s hard to protect something if you don’t know what or where it is. To understand the risks to systems, assets, data, and capabilities, you need visibility into what is on your network, who is using network-connected devices, when network access is requested, and where the request is coming from.

Step 2: Protect. Deploying safeguards against inevitable cyber attacks is crucial. Protection can include everything from enforcing access control to managing data confidentiality. Firewalls are foundational to having the industry’s most complete and open security platform. With world-class security controls, consistent policy and visibility, and the ability to integrate network and security, your healthcare organization can reduce costs and complexity.

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