The Healthcare industry and the organizations working in it are exposed to data theft and other security issues, just like all other industries and organizations. While all leading healthcare organizations place certain security measures, procedures, and technologies so that data theft can be prevented, not all IT security weaknesses can be found. In this context, healthcare provider penetration testing seems quite helpful to mitigate the chances of data theft and other security issues.
The importance of HIPAA penetration testing in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations have the patient health information (PHI), diagnosis reports, test results, payment information, and many other kinds of data that needs to be secured. The security of the IT network itself is also very important, and this should also be protected from hackers 24 by 7. Here is when HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance comes into play. The HIPAA compliant penetration testing will make sure that your network and data security can comply with the Act’s provisions and are safe as well.
Also name known by the name ethical hacking, penetration testing is the skill which computer professionals can only gain after passing certain courses and gaining certification. The ethical hackers identify the various threats and potential vulnerabilities that a network environment may be exposed to. They also try to penetrate the security network and find its vulnerabilities, just the way a hacker would do. Hence HIPAA penetration testing can find out all the loopholes within a given network and system and can prepare the healthcare IT network for a range of threats that it may face in future. The healthcare provider penetration testing can secure all kinds of institutional, client and patient data.
What the penetration testers do
The penetration testers are ethical hackers who run the automated scans, which can be many in number. The website is also tested manually. Other applications and things tested include the networks that are exposed to the internet, the patient web portal, and other applications. All loopholes that can lead to the extraction of patient data are explored and secured. Healthcare provider penetration testing is quite essential to have so that the brand would not have to face severe issues later on.
The organizations that develop and carry out Applications by themselves find penetration testing even more useful. This is so because the systems, as well as the codes, need to be tested by the third party. The developers may miss certain security loopholes and vulnerabilities, which can be easily located later.
The external and internal penetration testing
The penetration testing procedure holds two major types including external and internal penetration testing. During external healthcare provider penetration testing, the network is tested from some external open source platform, for instance, internet. This is actually how the hackers penetrate any security network through internet. When the network is tested from inside the organization IT structure itself (systems are without any PHI access), it is called internal penetration testing,
Business organizations (including the Healthcare organizations) are today exposed to a range of attacks. The web browsers, operating system, software, server interfaces, and many other components and applications of IT systems and network are exposed to hackers and web attackers all the time.
HIPAA penetration testing is one of the best options for system defence. The independent form of penetration testing can expose the various threats easily. So, what are you waiting for? Do hire the best healthcare provider penetration testing.
