Cyber Security

Cyber security is an ever-evolving technology and as our systems become more accessible on the internet, we are more prone to attacks of cyber-crime. We are seeing an increase in Cyber Crime targeting businesses especially in the healthcare sector.

There is a vast array of online threats out there, here are 3 to be mindful of

Here are a few things to help get you thinking about your clinics cyber security
and whether you have adequate protection in place.

Attackers are constantly looking for ways to compromise systems. One of methods used is to find flaws in computer software and exploit it to gain access. Software companies release updates which fix these vulnerabilities, which is why it is very important to ensure all the software on your computers is as up to date as possible.

Another way an attacker can get into your system is if your passwords are not strong enough. There are a variety of ways this can be done, such as brute force (just keep trying passwords) and dictionary attacks (use combinations of known common passwords) to name a couple. Therefore, it is important to make sure you use passwords that are complex and are not easy to guess. A strong password will have a combination of capital and lower-case letters, special characters and should be at least 8 characters long.

As per above, software can be one point of vulnerability in your network. Limiting the number of applications installed on your computers will minimize the number of potential ways an attacker can use to try to break into your systems.

An administrator on a computer has full power to make changes to everything on it. By limiting this access to only people that need it, you limit the amount of damage that can be done.

Setting permissions on files to only allow access to people that need them is also another way to further protect your data. Less availability means that in the event of an attack you could potentially limit the damage to only the resources that person has access to.

A strong firewall is important to the defence of your practice. It acts as the gate keeper between your computers and the internet. It can inspect threats and stop them before they reach your computers.

Monitoring helps your practice by ensuring computers are running smoothly and to catch potential problems while they are still small and allowing for proactive actions rather than reacting when a computer goes down, which will minimize downtime.

If there is data in your practice that you need to access externally, we strongly recommend the use of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This is essentially a secured link between your home and your practice which means you are not opening your doors to would-be attackers using methods like remote desktop.

Backups are essential to any modern-day business;Vet practices are no exception. It is important that backups are handled offsite, encrypted and multiple copies are kept. A good backup solution is the best last line of defence against most modern attacks, as well as fire, theft, and natural disasters. It ensures that even if your building gets demolished your data is still safe and you do not have to start from scratch.

Software such as antivirus and anti-ransomware is software installed on the computers in your practice which are designed to offer protection in the event that an attack gets through your network defences. They can mitigate many known and unknown attacks completely, or in the worst case limit the damage done by attacks.

Here at Vet It Pro we understand the importance of Cyber Security and the impacts that having inadequate plans in place can have.
A good system is one with multi layers of protection with your defences only being as good as your weakest link.

If you would like to speak to someone regarding your clinics cyber security systems, contact us today.