In the healthcare world, device security and patient data are constantly at risk. Malicious threats like ransomware, malware, and other security vulnerabilities can rapidly make their way through health system networks, IT and healthcare IoT endpoints, and connected medical devices. If these threats are not identified and remediated quickly, entire healthcare delivery systems can be compromised, and secure, reliable patient care delivery disrupted.
This is precisely why zero trust is an extremely powerful component in a healthcare delivery organization’s overall cybersecurity strategy.
What is Zero Trust?
Zero trust is a healthcare security framework that goes far beyond the traditional model of perimeter-based security, which focuses on protecting the boundaries of a network, for a model where every user, device, and application attempting to access sensitive resources is continuously verified. Zero trust assumes that every entity is untrustworthy, which means every entity must have minimal permissions, as well as continuous verification.
Given the sensitive nature of healthcare data and an increasing number of cyber attacks specifically targeting healthcare providers, the zero trust framework ensures that only authenticated, authorized, and verified users and devices can access critical resources. This, alongside continuous monitoring and surveillance, helps reduce the number of threats to healthcare IoT and connected medical devices.
Why Should Healthcare IT Teams Implement Zero Trust?
At any given time, healthcare delivery organizations have thousands of IT, IoT, and connected medical devices connected to their networks. Many of these devices (and especially connected medical devices) are systems with limited security controls. Implementing a zero trust framework ensures healthcare devices only have access to the resources they need, makes it easier to secure older, legacy devices without extensive upgrades, and limits the ability of threats to spread from older, less secure devices to other parts of the network, which all help minimize the potential impact of a security breach.
One of the core aspects of the zero trust framework is network segmentation. Not only does network segmentation prevent threats from gaining access to the rest of the network, but it also ensures that the threat, device, and the data it’s trying to access are isolated.
Zero trust also requires real-time monitoring. Being able to pinpoint behavioral anomalies or unusual activities is a cornerstone of zero trust and a must for healthcare delivery organizations as devices become more integrated and adapted to the IoMT (Internet of Medical Things).
How Can Cylera Help?
Cylera’s comprehensive solutions were developed with the zero trust framework in mind. Here’s how the best-in-class Cylera platform works to fortify, protect, and appropriately segment healthcare IoT and connected medical devices without impacting secure, reliable care delivery.
Device Profiling and Risk Assessment
Cylera’s deep device intelligence examines each device’s risk level and any inherent vulnerabilities that may be exploited. This allows the system to understand any device-specific risks so that the IT team can then decide which level of access is appropriate.
Network Segmentation
Cylera integrations with popular firewall and network access control (NAC) solutions help enable the division of the network into smaller, more isolated zones, or subnets, to help healthcare IT teams control access according to various parameters, including device roles, data sensitivity, and risk level. In the event of a potential breach, this prevents the entire network from being compromised and helps to further prevent the threat from spreading.
Real-Time Threat Detection and Response
Through a combination of real-time threat detection, machine learning, and behavioral analytics, Cylera’s platform quickly identifies and alerts on cyber threats that can impact healthcare delivery. When an anomaly is spotted, it’s immediately flagged so that the threat can be contained and remediated.
How to Implement a Zero Trust Framework with Cylera
The first step toward implementing a zero trust framework using Cylera is to conduct an initial risk assessment. Take the time to map out all devices and applications using Cylera’s healthcare IoT and connected medical device profiling capabilities to understand what the current security landscape looks like so that you’ll have a clear idea of your device asset inventory, vulnerabilities, risks, and threats.
Then define the zero trust policies and protocols you want to use across the different parts of your healthcare network. Next, begin to segment high-risk network devices and critical assets. Using Cylera’s built-in network segmentation policy generation engine in conjunction with Cylera’s integrations with leading firewall and NAC solutions, IT teams can quickly segment their networks and isolate various mission-critical healthcare IoT and connected medical devices with minimal impact to operations.
Once segmentation policies are in place, ongoing real-time monitoring by firewall and NAC solutions can immediately detect threats and quarantine affected devices, which helps IT teams minimize east-west lateral movement and contain the attack blast radius.
However, don’t forget that even with a zero trust approach and an effective network segmentation strategy in place, healthcare cybersecurity is still everybody’s responsibility, not just the responsibility of the IT team, or the information security team, or the network team. Educating all healthcare delivery staff on security practices is a must in order for the zero trust framework to work as intended. Fortunately, Cylera comes equipped with dashboards, reports, and detailed guides that make security protocols easier to understand, even for those without previous IT or information security experience.
Getting Started with Zero Trust in Healthcare Using Cylera
Cyber threats are constantly evolving. No longer is it enough to rely on whatever baseline security comes included with the latest healthcare IoT devices or legacy connected medical devices. In today’s highly digitalized healthcare delivery organizations, all healthcare IoT and connected medical devices must be rigorously secured and continuously monitored. Through the use of automated segmentation policy generation, machine learning, and tight integrations with firewall and NAC solutions, Cylera is uniquely positioned to help IT, information security, and network teams within healthcare organizations respond to rapidly evolving cyber risks and threats.
Not only does implementing a zero trust framework protect your healthcare organization’s most vital networks, devices, and access points, it also works as a shield to help solidify defenses against up-and-coming threats before they become widespread. Zero trust, together with Cylera’s best-in-class platform for healthcare IoT asset management and cybersecurity, means securing patient data and critical medical systems has become easier, more automated, more consistent, and less prone to human error.
We invite you to learn more about Cylera’s cutting-edge healthcare IoT asset intelligence and cybersecurity platform and how we’re working every day to identify and respond to cyber threats targeting healthcare delivery organizations. From small regional hospitals to large healthcare systems, and across academic, government, and private healthcare providers, Cylera is able to help healthcare systems of all types anticipate and neutralize new cyber risks and threats by providing an highly advanced and extensible solution that can quickly evolve as your needs and the healthcare threat landscape changes.
Contact us today to schedule a demo or take a product tour and discover for yourself how Cylera is uniquely designed to provide unparalleled IoT asset intelligence and security.
