(303) 369-3200

Tuesday, 18 July 2017 11:23

Cybersecurity in a Post-HIPAA world

Written by
Rate this item
(1 Vote)
Cyber security is a topic we all see and hear about every day, whether from friends, colleagues or the news. The reality is, cybersecurity attacks are becoming more constant and aggressive with their techniques and targets, and it is our responsibility to learn how to protect our businesses from attacks.
 
Those who handle benefits have access to Protected Health Information (PHI), and thus must take particular precautions to protect this sensitive data.
  • Ensure your HR team is following proper HIPAA procedures, for starters. Fall River offers all our clients a complimentary training on this – just contact us!
  • All laptops or computers that have access to PHI should be encrypted; password protection of files is not enough;
  • Many “hacks” are inside jobs – do background checks where allowed and verify references before hiring;
  • Change passwords frequently and do not share logon credentials – for example, each HR team member should have their own carrier portal logons;
  • Make certain your office wifi is password protected;
  • Teach employees about Phishing emails and how to verify the sender of an email before clicking any links, as phishers have become very good at creating emails that look like a message from your bank, or a FedEx tracking report, for example;
  • Viruses and Malware are spread by individuals going to questionable websites, or opening infected files;
  • Scareware tries to convince users they have a virus, but clicking the offered “anti-virus” actually installs new viruses – so teach employees how to recognize these before clicking;
  • Ransomware attacks are extortion campaigns that lock down all the files on your computer until you pay the ransom. The best defense is constantly backing up all your files so you can get them back without paying the attacker.
Another great defense for many of these is keeping your software and hardware current, and running all your software updates so you are less vulnerable to these attacks. Make sure your IT department and/or outsourced IT provider is on top of all these threats, and helping you to educate your employees so they don’t inadvertently worsen your level of cybersecurity.

Contact us with any questions!
Read 2217 times Last modified on Monday, 14 September 2020 16:32
Gaby Baughn

Gaby is our bilingual Client Service Specialist. She provides day-to-day support to our clients and members with billing, claims, eligibility, and system issues in English and Spanish. Gaby also assists the Client Managers with creating communications materials, preparing for open enrollment meetings and quoting.