Healthcare Security Challenges

The Healthcare IT network is the central nervous system that supports life- and business-critical functions. It is essential that systems remain healthy and protected from viruses, spyware, and other malicious intrusions.

A potential danger to a healthcare IT system is the vast number of medical professionals who need immediate and secure access to patient files and records. Every department influencing a patient's care (i.e., emergency, admissions, records, radiology, surgery, or billing) requires access through a secure network.

Unknown and untrusted computer devices attempting to gain access to the network represent a major IT security risk. Add contractors, patients and guests, peripheral access through wireless connections, and multiple physical localities within the same hospital system, and it is increasingly likely that malware capable of causing significant harm to critical networks will be introduced to the system.

Healthcare has the added burden of meeting regulatory compliance. Entrusted with highly personal and confidential information, healthcare providers must adhere to complicated audit and reporting requirements stipulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and a number of mandated Government directives, or face significant penalties and fees.

Safe•Connect allows healthcare providers to balance these demands while providing an open network access control (OpenNAC) solution that is cost-effective, scalable, and easily integrated into vendor-diverse environments.