Monday, 21 July 2014

Protective Measures Used By New York Network Security Firm Offer Healthcare IT Security Solutions

By Lonnie Trevarthen


A computer system that is set up to serve the needs of a health care organization has a big responsibility. It is in charge of the confidential medical records of a large group of patients. Therefore, a New York Network Security Company must be especially diligent.

The initial protective precaution is to assign a name and password to all with authorized access. The policies are set by the administrator of the company. The data is monitored to assure it has not been accessed by unauthorized personnel.

The data bank is kept confidential by the administrator. The health care organization will have a private network. Employees can only access the information required to do their jobs.

These records contain sensitive information on the health care history of each patient. It must be protected from outsiders while allowing instant access to physicians and nurses involved in direct care. Individuals higher up in the hierarchy of personnel will be allowed access.

Security begins with one-factor authentication. This means each authorized person is assigned a name and password. This is a simple precaution to take, insufficient for a health care organization.

Two-factor authenticating requires one more layer. A name and password are needed, plus a software token, such as a picture. But, this is still not a strong enough deterrent against hackers.

Much more effective is the three-factor authentication. Name, password and software token are all used. However, there is more. A retinal scan or fingerprint scan is added to the authentication protocol.

The system is kept behind a firewall also. However, the firewall may not deter all viruses. It will protect from some when kept properly updated.

Any health care system requires all aforementioned precautions and possibly more. For example, some systems can automatically require employees to change their passwords regularly. If an employee forgets his or her password, as will inevitably happen, a new one can only be set in the presence of supervisors.




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