CYBERSECURITY IN THE HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract In 1990 the online world began to take shape when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Almost simultaneously, cybersecurity was birthed to protect and minimize the various threats including but not limited to worms, viruses, and data breaches. Cybersecurity includes the various technologies, equipment both hardware and software, processes, and procedures that are used to guard against unauthorized attacks or access to protected information. This paper will focus on cybersecurity as it relates to the healthcare environment. Every department in a healthcare facility is responsible for taking care of patients. This should be their number one priority and information technology is no exception. While IT staff most likely do not provide hands on care to patients, they go to great lengths to protect their personal health information. In a healthcare environment, there are numerous departments such as Lab, Radiology, and Pharmacy etc. that need to have integrated systems. These systems must also be able to reach the internet and often be accessible to outside/non-employed vendors for support and maintenance. Also, communication among employees and with the outside world is a must. Email, video conferencing, desktop sharing, and faxing are all used thousands of times a day. It is imperative that cybersecurity be a top priority and everyone holds himself or herself responsible for protecting the systems that allow staff to take care of their patients