PACS & Security: Use the Right Tools to Fight Data Breaches.

Imaging groups, just like every other industry, face cyber security threats. Given the complexities of cyber security, from theories to actual hardware, it can be difficult to ascertain exactly how safe your data is. Fortunately, there are imaging vendors building protections into their strategies, many of which safeguard PACS and other radiology technologies.

Piling on to the already-stressful situation posed by cyber criminals is the fact that the impact on costs associated with data security breaches is much higher for healthcare providers, which is another reason to adopt a strategy that accounts for keeping your information safe and secure.

Big Breaches

Almost 40 million people were impacted on one level or another because of data breaches in healthcare alone in 2019. The healthcare community paid out roughly $40 billion as a result of those attacks. What’s concerning is that despite the fines paid out and damage done, a majority of medical imaging devices being used today are still not up to date with the latest security solutions.

Avoiding a breach requires visibility. This means you have to know what devices are connected to your network, including the often “invisible” Internet of Things devices, which means there are a lot of endpoint risks involved. Many of your cloud-based services have security technologies implemented on the vendor side, but a startling number of users fail to recognize what they’re accountable for on their side.

Staying Safe

Regardless of what industry you’re in, IT professionals must stay on top of office-wide policies where security updates are concerned. This includes making sure everyone knows that if they are prompted that a security update is available, it should be taken care of immediately.

For those responsible for finding cloud-based solutions that assist in their imaging needs, there are radiology-specific vendors out there that have a more vigorous approach to security, which includes PACS-based solutions.

These protections include such things as virus scanners, which closely monitor a facility’s central IT infrastructure. If you’re patterning with a quality PACS vendor, they’re going to take these scanners and many more tools and techniques under their wing to keep your data safer.

At OffSite Image Management, we were early adopters of cyber security solutions that keep our clients’ data completely safe. From encryption to scanners to access rights and authentication techniques, we’re up to speed on the latest advancements that keep hackers out of your data.

For more information about our approach to cloud-based and hybrid PACS, check out our page dedicated to our high-end services that come without the burden of high-end costs.