AXONIUS FOR HEALTHCARE

Modern hospitals now average 10 to 15 connected devices per patient bed. The rise in devices — paired with strict regulations around cybersecurity and personal health information security — creates a complex environment for healthcare security teams. The Axonius Platform helps reduce the challenges of identifying and assessing assets in service of risk reduction.

HOW HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS MANAGE AND SECURE ASSETS WITH THE AXONIUS PLATFORM   

Cybersecurity teams working at healthcare organizations are crucial to saving lives. Connected devices are critical to delivering top-quality care to patients, but many weren’t designed with security controls at the core. 

The threat of cyber attacks — plus the sheer number of devices in healthcare settings — can be intimidating. The threat of operational disruptions and unmanaged remote workforces pose additional challenges. IT and security teams must get the right people the right level of access, all while meeting regulatory requirements for privacy and confidentiality. Healthcare organizations use the Axonius Platform because it provides a single system of record for managing and securing all assets.

UNIQUE CYBER THREATS

IoMT: The Internet of Medical Things consists of thousands of healthcare-specific devices that were designed to help save people’s lives, not for information security. IoMT devices often have legacy operating systems, use outdated certificates, or transmit unencrypted patient data. Finding and classifying them is of critical importance. But mitigating this risk can’t be accomplished via single-source technology or by using tools that lack business-level context to make informed decisions. The potential for patient harm if these devices are compromised underscores the importance of the Axonius Platform in managing and securing them.

Data sprawl: To provide the best patient care, healthcare workers use numerous technologies to collect and track data. Data is then saved to patient records, which may be stored in various locations and easily accessed by members of the healthcare team. Between multiple tools, on-premises, SaaS, and cloud storage, and varying levels of access, the threat of a data breach is high. According to the IBM 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a healthcare data breach is $10.93 million USD — more than twice the cost of the average breach across all industries.  

Patient privacy: In addition to potential data breach costs, if healthcare workers can’t identify and secure all assets collecting and storing data, healthcare organizations are under tremendous pressure to comply with patient data privacy regulations.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the biggest challenges healthcare organizations face in managing and securing assets?

Healthcare organizations are facing a growing number of challenges when it comes to managing and securing assets. Their quickly advancing technology, like telehealth, and legacy systems can lead to a flat network architecture that makes assets harder to track and the healthcare organization vulnerable to attack.

Why are traditional IT asset management solutions insufficient for healthcare organizations?

Traditional IT asset management solutions, such as manually tracking applications, are an inefficient use of resources and make interpreting the data difficult. Adding IoT devices that streamline processes for patients also makes traditional IT asset management solutions dangerous for healthcare organizations to have in place.

What unique cybersecurity threats do healthcare organizations face?

The healthcare industry faces many unique cybersecurity challenges largely due to the clients they serve. Any healthcare organization will hold a large volume of personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), and electronic health records (EHR), making them a lucrative target for bad actors.

How can Axonius help healthcare organizations improve cybersecurity?

Axonius improves healthcare organizations’ cybersecurity posture through a centralized asset inventory, continuous monitoring and automated workflows that can reduce compliance problems. By leveraging adapters to deeply integrate across the organization’s entire network of applications, devices, and tools, Axonius achieves a comprehensive approach to asset management.