Healthcare institutions remain among the most targeted organizations when it comes to hacker attacks and other security intrusions. These entities possess a wealth of data, including personal information that cyber criminals can use.
Data protection regulations from the European Parliament and Council have been set in place to safeguard the individual’s right to control how his personal data is used and prevent companies from getting tangled in a legislative web.
Every organization has faced the dilemma of convenience over security and most have compromised on either one or the other. While the information security triad of integrity, confidentiality and availability has been regarded as the mantra of CSOs, convenience has constantly played an important role in both productivity and operations.
Increasing attacks on financial services firms and other industries have prompted creation of cybersecurity regulations and guidelines from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong, among others.
There has been a lot of talk about the need for improved cybersecurity information sharing between the private sector and governments in the last year. And there certainly will be more this year, you can count on it. The thought being that the more information governments and private sector have about cybersecurity trends, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques the more nimble and directed (and hopefully effective) IT security defenses could be.
Many insurance companies are offering coverage for data breaches, and indeed a growing number of organizations are purchasing this type of insurance as hacker attacks become more common.
Data breach or cyber insurance policies are becoming a more vital component of organizations’ preparedness plans, according to a 2014 report by the Ponemon Institute.
Telecommunications is one of those industries that many people take for granted—until service is interrupted for one reason or another. We’re accustomed to being connected, whether it’s through our mobile devices or landline phones at home or in the office.
Businesses as well as consumers are highly dependent on telecom companies and the communications infrastructure they provide, and if their operations are down for any length of time, it wreaks havoc. That’s why the cost of a security breach at telecom’s are high.
When you hear about the types of organizations that make it a high priority to build a strong information security strategy, healthcare institutions often come up. And why shouldn’t they?
Keeping patients’ data secure and private is vital to maintaining their trust, and it’s also mandated by regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.
Cloud computing provides us with many benefits. It allows us to scale services quickly in accordance with demand. Cloud computing enables us to deploy new systems, services, and applications rapidly in response to business needs. It also allows us to outsource certain functions to Cloud Service Providers that specialise in those areas allowing our internal IT departments to focus more on key business requirements.
Finally, another benefit cloud computing provides is to transfer the task of securing our data to providers that may have more skills, specialists, and budget to do so.
As part of an ongoing series, we’re examining the security and compliance needs and challenges in a variety of industries, and the implications for value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers (MSPs). In this post, we look at the healthcare sector.
Few industries (financial services being another), have been as scrutinized over data security and privacy issues as healthcare. With the advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, hospitals, clinics, private practices, health insurers and others in the industry have had to become super diligent about protecting patient information.
Our latest addition to the industry-by-industry security analysis series is financial services.
Financial services companies in the U.S. lost an average of $23.6 million from cyber-security breaches in 2013, the highest average loss across 26 industries, according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. The study by the consulting firm, entitled "Transforming Cybersecurity: New Approaches for an Evolving Threat Landscape", notes that the growth in cyber-crime has continued, if not accelerated, in the industry.
A huge majority (88%) of the cyber-security attacks against financial services firms are successful in less than one day, the report says. On the other hand, only 21% of the attacks are discovered within a day, and only 40% of the companies involved are able to restore their business within that one-day time frame.
In this latest installment in our series of profiles on security and compliance issues and challenges in various industries, we take a look at the manufacturing sector.
This industry, particularly if we include consumer goods, presents a broad range of companies. And of course security threats can vary depending on what types of products a company makes.
But in general, companies that make goods and equipment are particularly prone to theft of information about how they produce things, especially for high-priced or high-demand items. Given the growth of business competition worldwide, manufacturers these days should expect to be the target of theft of trade secrets and intellectual property via corporate espionage.
For value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers (MSPs), the opportunities to assist clients in this sector are plentiful. For one thing, it’s a huge industry. For another, it has a host of information security concerns.
