By Robert McDermott | President & CEO, iCoreConnect
For many practices, email is a major security vulnerability. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are more aware of the opportunities to attack than practices are aware of the risk. Understanding the importance of email security can save your practice and your patients from data theft, ransomware, big financial hits and more.
Among the biggest threats are phishing attacks, which can trick you into compromising not just your email but your network. In a fast-paced environment, knocking off simple tasks quickly is essential. But when someone preys on the speed of business and an avalanche of emails to trick your team into clicking on a link, it can be remarkably dangerous for your healthcare practice.
Phishing emails are often disguised as legitimate communication from trusted sources. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) present a treasure trove of valuable data, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals. EHRs, patient information, and financial data are all assets cybercriminals can exploit for financial gain or use for identity theft.
While phishing emails might disguise themselves as official communications from known and trusted sources, there are a few things dental teams can look for to help identify potentially dangerous emails. These steps alone won’t solve the problem, but they can help flag emails that warrant further attention before anyone responds to them or clicks a malicious link. Here’s what to look out for:
- Unexpected emails from partners, vendors or agencies, especially those deemed important
- Demands and urgency, particularly to share information, download, log in, or take other actions
- Strange email addresses, specifically with deviations or misspellings of common or familiar email domains (example: accountservices@amazone.com or where the o in Amazon is a 0)
How to Improve Dental Practice Email Security
First, HIPAA establishes strict guidelines for protecting electronic protected health information (ePHI). This includes email transmissions, so ensuring your practice has HIPAA-compliant email with HIPAA Rules and Regulations is the first step.
Not sure if you’re compliant? A thorough risk assessment to identify potential email (and other) vulnerabilities may be in order. A HIPAA risk assessment involves evaluating the security of email servers, encryption methods and access controls.
Employee training is another key aspect of improving healthcare email security. Regular training sessions can empower employees to identify and report potential security threats, reducing the likelihood of falling victim to email-based attacks.
Furthermore, practices must establish robust access controls to limit access to patient information only to authorized personnel. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a layer of security, requiring users to verify their identity through multiple means, such as passwords, time-sensitive security codes and biometrics. To highlight the criticality of using MFA, reports indicate the massive and crippling cyber attack on Change Healthcare earlier this year was a result of an absence of multi-factor authentication on a form used by internal staff.
Finally, regularly updating and patching networks and email systems is essential to address vulnerabilities and protect against emerging threats. With many cloud-based software solutions, new updates and patches are installed automatically with no work required.
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly shifting, but email threats are clearly an area evolving more rapidly than others. Any exposure of patient data, even if accidental, could put your practice at risk of data loss, financial loss, lost trust and lost patients.
One way to help ensure your email inboxes are safe from phishing attacks is by using a HIPAA-compliant, encrypted email by FDA Endorsed iCoreExchange. Not only does it prevent unsolicited or malicious emails from getting through to your inbox, but it also exceeds the federal government’s HIPAA regulations. Nor has an iCoreExchange email been hacked. Ever.
Ready to secure your email, your patient data and your practice? Book a demo with the iCoreConnect team today or call 888.810.7706.
Beyond the Bite 