INOMPAS Show (Spring 2016) - Day 2 Show Daily

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« 1 2 » THE INCOMPAS SHOW I APRIL 10-13, 2016
DAY 2 THE INCOMPAS SHOW
T he Ponemon Institute sets $363 the
value of a single stolen health record
on the black market. In fact, medical
information is worth 10 times more than
a credit card number.
While it’s true businesses across all industries
are being threatened increasingly by cyber crime
and hackers, none is being attacked as much as
the healthcare industry.
Healthcare companies experienced a 72
percent increase in cyber attacks between
2013 and 2014, and in 2015 there were 253
breaches affecting 500 individuals or more with a
combined loss of more than 112 million records,
according to a reports by the Aberdeen Group
and OCR.
Security experts say cyber criminals are
targeting the $3 trillion U.S. healthcare industry
because many of these organizations still rely
on aging computer systems that do not use the
latest security features.
Combine that with the simple fact that health-
care providers don’t always have an experienced
IT workforce that can build and implement a
comprehensive disaster recovery plan, the
perfect recipe for costly implications such as
data ransom is created.
In February, a hacker used malware
to infect Hollywood Presbyterian Medical
Center’s computer systems and seized control,
preventing the hospital system from being able
to communicate on those devices.
The center only regained control of its
network after paying out the ransom of 40
bitcoin, equivalent to $17,000.
TeleQuality has found that many healthcare
providers, especially in rural areas, lack the
IT resources necessary to secure their data.
So what can data technology and innovation
companies do to help the healthcare clients
protect their data?
It is imperative that data centers and technology
companies start taking a proactive approach in
educating healthcare clients on low-tech and high-
tech solutions to protect themselves and their
patients’ data from ransomware and hacking.
Data centers can provide helpful how-to lists
to healthcare providers regarding critical data
securing activities such as how to:
• Backup Their Data – Data centers know the
best prevention method to lessen potential
damage by a ransomware attack is to make
sure information is backed up using the 3-2-1
best practice rule. Healthcare providers may
be unaware that they should create three
backup copies of their data on two different
media with one of those copies on a separate
location. This is the most critical component
for any business to consider when storing
protected, valuable information and data
centers should help educate their customers.
• Develop a Comprehensive Disaster
Recovery Plan – Often healthcare orga-
nizations fail to consider and act on all
aspects of disaster recovery from physical
facilities and computer hardware and soft-
ware to communications links, data files
and databases, customer services provided,
user operations, overall management infor-
mation systems structure, end-user systems
and developing testing criteria/procedures.
The reality of today’s technological world
is not if you get cyber attacked, but when.
Ensure the healthcare providers have a
disaster recovery plan that is comprehen-
sive so they are prepared.
• Test the Disaster Recovery Plan Annually
– Many healthcare providers are not aware
that having a disaster recovery plan is a great
start but isn’t enough on its own. They must
be made aware that regular testing of the
plan is critical to preventing it from becoming
outdated. Data centers should encourage
healthcare providers to test their plan annually
to determine the feasibility and compatibility
of backup facilities and to test short-term and
long-term battery backup needs.
Here are some tips to teach providers simple
ways to prevent ransomware
• Avoid clicking on embedded links in unveri-
fied emails
• Regularly update software, programs and
applications
• Use a layered protection suite
• Inventory physical devices and systems
within the healthcare organization
• Perform vulnerability scans regularly
• Use the UCSC’s “Password Strength and
Security Standards”
• Manage access permissions and incorpo-
rate the principles of least privilege and
separation of duties
With three TeleQuality data centers opening this
year in Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix, the company
recognizes the urgency to promote awareness and
education to data centers and healthcare providers
on ransomware and data hacking as it becomes a
major threat to the healthcare industry.
TeleQuality’s CEO Tim Kolien wants all data
center companies to join its commitment to help
protect their healthcare clients, to fight the impli-
cations of data ransom and data hacking in order
to protect health information. o
TeleQuality Encourages Data Centers to Help
Protect Healthcare Information
ATLANTIC-ACM Delivers
U.S. Long Haul Wholesale Awards
A TLANTIC-ACM, a research consultancy
and market diligence firm, delivered
its 2016 U.S. Long Haul Whole-
sale Service Provider Excellence Awards on
Monday at The INCOMPAS Show. The awards
were based on more than 800 customer evalu-
ations of U.S. long haul wholesale service
providers for the company’s 2016 U.S. Long
Haul Wholesale Report Card.
ATLANTIC-ACM President and Managing
Partner Fedor Smith delivered the awards to:
• Level 3 for Service Delivery and
Customer Service
• Verizon for Brand, Network Performance
and Voice Value
• XO Communications for Sales Reps
and Billing (tie)
• Zayo for Data Value and Billing (tie)
Founded in 1991, ATLANTIC-ACM is a
strategic consulting firm to the telecom and
technology sectors. It assists corporate and
investor clients in evaluating strategic growth
opportunities for successful investment, market
entry, optimization and long-term planning.
For more than two decades, the Boston-
based firm has helped companies identify
opportunities, capture and retain market share,
and navigate changing market dynamics, econ-
omies and technologies. o
For more information, visit