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The Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

The cybersecurity talent shortage is a known issue that the government, industry groups, and educators are working to address. But as CISOs are asked to do more with fewer resources and support, it can risk healthcare organizations’ cybersecurity. The “Implications of Stress on CISOs 2023 Report” by Cynet found that many security teams faced retention challenges due to work-related stress that could put their data at risk.

The Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

When security teams are understaffed, they can become overworked and burnt out. As a result, they have less time to focus on updating security policies, training staff, and monitoring the attack surface. The impacts of staffing challenges can significantly affect the ability of security teams to detect and respond to threats. The survey found that 65 percent of CISOs stated that work-related stress affected their capacity to safeguard their organization. In addition, 77 percent of CISOs believed their insufficient bandwidth and inadequate resources caused critical security initiatives to be neglected. These lapses are not going unnoticed. Seventy-nine percent of CISOs have received complaints from colleagues claiming security tasks are not being adequately handled.

the security risks of staffing challengesWith limited choices, organizations must be wise and strategic in the technology they employ. When asked about the technology initiatives that could positively impact their work-related stress levels, 57 percent of the respondents cited consolidating multiple security technologies on a single platform or interface as a possible solution. Additionally, 51 percent of the respondents believed automating time-consuming and repetitive manual tasks would help reduce their workloads.

Candidate Quality Staffing Challenges

When security teams cannot find qualified candidates to fill open positions, crucial tasks are left incomplete, and other team members must pick up the slack. In turn, this can lead to compounding issues with employee satisfaction and retention. Of the surveyed CISO teams, 74 percent reported losing team members due to work-related stress issues.

According to the report, nearly half of the teams had more than one CISO resign over the last 12 months. The impact of stress levels is seen in retention rates and recruitment efforts, with 83 percent of CISOs admitting they have had to compromise on the quality of new hires to fill vacancies left by departing employees.

Solving retention and recruitment issues is essential to improve your organization’s security posture. Rethinking the hiring process and investing in entry-level talent is just one approach to filling the cybersecurity talent pipeline.

Ways to Alleviate the Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

While solving staffing challenges will take time and investment from the public and private sectors, there are ways to streamline and automate tasks to reduce the burden on security teams.

According to Deloitte, email is a significant vector of security risk for many healthcare organizations. 91% of all cyber attacks begin with a phishing email. Healthcare organizations have more to worry about than cyberattacks. They are also vulnerable to insider threats and have serious data compliance obligations. Employees must understand data loss prevention and how to protect sensitive information that is shared externally.

By using LuxSci’s best-in-class secure email technology, it can drastically reduce the burden on security teams. Protect from external threats by employing advanced email filtering to stop cybercriminals from even reaching inboxes. In addition, LuxSci’s email encryption is enabled automatically to protect sensitive data in transit. It’s easy to administer and doesn’t require security and IT teams to spend hours developing keyword lists, analyzing gaps, and training employees. By reducing the risk of your email communications, security teams can focus their limited resources on critical security initiatives.

Contact LuxSci today to learn how our experienced team can help alleviate the burden on your security and IT teams.

Tags: ciso, cybersecurity, cybersecurity risk, email encryption, email filtering, email security, operational efficiency, phishing, risk assessment, secure connector, secure email, security risk, staffing
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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The Benefits of Using PHI in Patient Communications

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Some healthcare organizations do not allow PHI to be sent outside the patient’s health record. However, by allowing your marketing and administrative teams to use PHI in patient communication, you can streamline operations, improve the patient experience, and increase revenue.

Although the healthcare industry is traditionally slow to adopt new technologies, the past few years have rapidly accelerated the shift to digital communications. The reasons for these shifts are varied and will be explored in detail below. No matter the reason, one thing is certain- organizations adapting to the modern digital age are thriving, while those resisting change are falling behind in meeting patient expectations.  

Changing Technology Preferences

Rapid technological innovation has made it possible to communicate securely at scale. As broadband access has increased, people are incorporating it into their daily lives. In 2022, 92% of Americans reported using email, and 49% checked it every few hours. Many people now prefer to receive business communications via email because it is asynchronous and can be engaged with when it fits into their schedules.

healthcare technology preferences stats

Healthcare organizations that utilize email for external communication are experiencing better response rates and fewer patient no-shows. Email already fits into the daily lives of many patients and doesn’t require them to take extra steps to receive information about their healthcare journey.

The Rise of Healthcare Consumerism

Healthcare consumerism refers to patients’ personal choices and responsibility in paying for and managing their health. Patients are no longer stuck with one provider or practice. They have more choices than ever and will shop around for new providers if unsatisfied with their experience. 

If healthcare providers are not delivering a digital experience that meets patient expectations, they could risk losing patients and revenue.

reasons to change providers

In addition, as younger generations are taking control of their healthcare, they are used to digital-first experiences that are personalized to their needs. If organizations are unwilling to invest into personalized digital patient experiences, they will not adequately serve the next generation of healthcare consumers. 

Staffing Challenges

The healthcare industry is not immune to recent staffing challenges. Staffing shortages have left fewer employees available to do more tasks, including patient care. Introducing digital technology into your patient communication strategy can help automate and streamline common communication workflows like:

  • Appointment reminders
  • Pre- and post-procedure instructions
  • Health education messages
  • Vaccine reminders
  • Medication adherence reminders
  • Billing

Automating common workflows frees up time for staff to focus on urgent patient needs and improves the patient experience. 

How to Safely Use PHI in Patient Communications

Patients are already communicating with their healthcare providers one-on-one via email. The question is, how can you protect this data while communicating at scale for marketing and educational purposes? There are tools (like LuxSci’s Secure Marketing and Secure High Volume Email solutions) that are designed to support the unique security needs of the healthcare industry while providing the personalized digital experience that patients desire.

Protecting PHI in Patient Communications

PHI needs to be protected in emails with advanced encryption technology. TLS encryption should be used as often as possible because it provides a user experience like regular email without requiring a portal login. For marketing and patient education emails, TLS is sufficient to protect data and allows patients to readily engage with the email content. By properly vetting and choosing the right vendors, marketing and administrative teams can communicate with patients via email without violating HIPAA. 

Personalization at Scale

The power of PHI is undeniable. When healthcare marketers can harness healthcare data to create ultra-personalized campaigns, it increases their relevance and the likelihood that the content will be engaged with, delivering a better ROI. Our solutions integrate via API to securely personalize messages and trigger emails when specific conditions are met. This allows marketers to send relevant messages at the right time when it is relevant to the patient’s healthcare journey.

personalization stats 

Modern technology is needed to serve today’s patients. Meeting patients where they are with the information they need on the channels they prefer is vital to improving healthcare outcomes for the most vulnerable populations. Using PHI in patient communications gives your organization a comparative advantage by providing a better patient experience. 

 

Tags: automation, email encryption, patient communication, patient experience, personalization, phi, secure email, secure marketing, tls encryption
Posted in Email, Email Marketing
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Futureproof Your Data Loss Prevention Strategy with Always On Email Encryption

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

The threats to sensitive data keep increasing, and organizations are struggling to stay secure. With the government considering new cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure, many organizations are reviewing their data loss prevention policies and are looking for ways to improve their security stance. This article reviews standard data loss prevention methods, their shortcomings, and how adding always-on email encryption to your toolbox can help futureproof your communications.

data loss prevention gaps

What is Email Data Loss Prevention?

Data loss prevention, also known as DLP, ensures that sensitive data is not lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users. DLP software allows users to classify business-critical data and take specific actions when those data are present in email messages. If sensitive data is identified, data loss prevention tools take some action to prevent users from accidentally or maliciously sharing data that could put the organization at risk.

How does DLP Technology work?

There are two main types of data loss prevention tools available:

  • Rules-based DLP
  • AI and Machine Learning based DLP

We will primarily discuss rules-based DLP in this article. But first, DLP tools that use AI or machine learning are trained on an extensive data set to identify when email messages sent by your employees contain sensitive information.

In rules-based DLP software, administrators create rules that trigger the data loss prevention technology to take a particular action. Some examples of rules include:

  • Encrypting emails that contain social security numbers.
  • Not sending emails that contain health data (as identified by the organization).
  • Flagging emails that include specific keywords like “contract,” “financial report,” or “confidential information.”

Once the rules are in place, the DLP software will scan every outgoing email message to search for data that meets the criteria. When the DLP detects sensitive data, it takes an action that the administrator also determines. Some common protective actions include:

  • Not sending the email at all.
  • Adding a warning label or sending a notice to the email sender.
  • Encrypting the email and sending it to a web portal.

Why is DLP technology insufficient for security and compliance?

While DLP technology may capture most sensitive data, it is not infallible. In industries like healthcare and finance, even one mistake could lead to a breach with severe financial penalties.

PHI data risk

Looking at how most data loss prevention software works, it’s easy to see how it can fail. Rule-based DLP requires administrators to thoroughly document and catalog every possible variation of the keywords and number formats that could indicate the presence of sensitive data. Even one typo could throw off DLP software and cause data to be sent without protection. Sensitive healthcare and financial data do not always fall cleanly into pre-determined categories, and there are always exceptions to rules.

Conversely, false positives from extremely strict rule-making can result in delayed business communications and inefficiency. If DLP rules are too restrictive and too many messages are not sent or locked behind a portal, employees may use less secure channels to get around DLP technology.

How to Close Data Loss Prevention Gaps with Always-On Email Encryption

Highly regulated industries should consider sending all messages with a baseline of TLS encryption instead of relying on DLP technology to trigger it. TLS encryption is secure enough to meet most compliance requirements and has added usability benefits. TLS-encrypted messages appear just like regular, unencrypted emails in the recipient’s inbox, making them easy to read and respond to but without the risk of interception or eavesdropping. When all messages are automatically encrypted, you can worry less about DLP failure and data leakage.

DLP scanning can also trigger web portal pick-up encryption for more sensitive messages. Sending highly confidential information like financial statements, medical records, and board meeting minutes requires added security that can be triggered by DLP technology. Reducing the number of rules required makes data loss prevention tools easier for administrators to manage. Also, removing encryption choices from employees improves their productivity and reduces risk.

Message encryption may only be optional for a little while longer. In 2022, CISA issued Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals, which recommended TLS encryption as part of prioritized cybersecurity practices that critical infrastructure owners and operators can implement to reduce the likelihood and impact of known risks and adversary techniques. Prepare for the future and protect your sensitive data by using LuxSci’s easy-to-use email encryption tools today.

Tags: content filters, data loss prevention, dlp, email encryption, email security, financial data, futureproof, keyword filtering, phi
Posted in Email, LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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Reduce Risk with Set It and Forget It Email Encryption

Tuesday, February 7th, 2023

Leveraging PHI in your communications provides relevant, meaningful information to patients while significantly increasing positive health outcomes. LuxSci’s secure and HIPAA-compliant always-on email encryption streamlines the communications process and reduces risk. Use PHI safely and securely with set it and forget it email encryption technology.

doctor sending email

The Email Encryption Landscape

There are many ways to enable encryption for messages that contain protected health information. The most common include data loss prevention technology and manual opt-in encryption.

First, data loss prevention uses software to scan message contents to look for keywords, phrases, or patterns that indicate the presence of sensitive or confidential information. Administrators must create detailed rules that instruct the DLP technology on what information is privileged and should be encrypted. While this is effective for some common keywords and patterns like social security numbers, a lot of health data does not fall neatly into pre-defined rules. DLP can quickly be rendered inadequate by misspellings, typos, or other human errors that fail to trigger the technology.

PHI data risk

The next way that email messages are commonly encrypted is through human decision-making. The user switches a toggle or types a word like “encrypt” into the subject line or message to notify the system that the message should be secured. This form of opt-in encryption is hazardous because it relies on staff members making the right decisions around confidentiality and security. Even the best employees will make mistakes. How many times have you forgotten to include an attachment with an email message?

A Better Way: Set It and Forget It Email Encryption

set it and forget it email encryption At LuxSci, we recommend a different approach. Encrypting every email message automatically drastically reduces the risk of user error and ensures 100% message encryption. In industries like healthcare and finance, even one mistake could lead to a breach with severe financial penalties.

By encrypting all messages with a baseline of TLS encryption, organizations can meet their compliance requirements and provide a better user experience for recipients because portal logins are not required.

Set It

Setting up LuxSci’s Secure Connector takes less than one hour. Administrators can set it up globally, with no local installation or download required by staff members to connect. Once DNS and encryption settings are configured, employees can send secure emails immediately.

Administrators can choose the encryption configuration option that best fits their business processes. TLS is suitable for most communications, but sensitive data like health records, financial reports, or other confidential information can be sent to a secure portal for increased security. Administrators can create and manage encryption settings on an individual or group level to provide maximum flexibility. LuxSci’s encryption technology is highly configurable to meet any business need.

Forget It

Administrators don’t have to rely on employee decision-making when all messages are automatically encrypted. Employees do not need to be trained on when to enable encryption. It just happens automatically in the background, which increases security and gives you peace of mind.

It’s also easier for administrators to manage. There is no need to create detailed lists of rules to trigger encryption technology. Once you’ve selected your encryption preferences, all emails are sent that way. Minimal ongoing training or support is needed, and administrators can be confident that their messages are protected. In addition, users can verify that secure message delivery occurred with comprehensive analytics reports.

The Results: Improved Patient Engagement

TLS encryption is a game-changer because it is secure enough to meet compliance requirements and is user-friendly. TLS-encrypted messages appear just like regular, unencrypted emails in the recipient’s inbox, making them easy to read and respond to but without the risk of interception or eavesdropping. This is crucial for users who are not tech-savvy and helps to increase engagement with the message contents. If a user needs to take an extra step to log into a portal or create an account, they are more likely to drop off and not read the message.

Reducing friction in patient communications helps improve conversions and nudges patients into taking actions that will improve their health outcomes. Access to health care needs to be equitable, and that means making clinical communications seamless for users of all technical abilities.

Tags: always on encryption, automatic encrypion, dlp, email encryption, human error, patient engagement, phi, risk analysis, secure connector, set it and forget it
Posted in Email, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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The Cybersecurity Risks of Mergers and Acquisitions

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

In tough economic times, many businesses go through mergers and acquisitions to improve their financial prospects. However, this process can put organizations’ sensitive data at risk. In this article, we discuss the cybersecurity risks of mergers and acquisitions. According to a report by Forescout, 62 percent of participants agreed that their company faces significant cybersecurity risks by acquiring new companies and expressed that cyber risk is their biggest concern post-acquisition.

cybersecurity risks of mergers and acquisitions

Before M&A: Assess Cybersecurity Risk

Even before mergers and acquisitions are announced, it can be a vulnerable time for a company’s data. Leakage of sensitive company data, like confidential financial information, can be catastrophic to negotiations. As a result, this makes companies considering a merger or acquisition highly susceptible to hacking.

Internal threats are also likely to increase. Employees not involved in negotiations may learn about merger talks and have some incentive to leak data to the press or to criminals to stop the process. It is essential to protect all communications relating to merger discussions.

The most significant risk of a merger is not doing cyber due diligence on the company being acquired. Risk analysis needs to be a part of negotiation talks. Most organizations being merged or acquired are smaller, with low levels of sophistication, and may lack mature cybersecurity programs. You need to understand the potential risks your company may be inheriting to prepare to address them properly. Security personnel need to be included in M&A talks to ask the right questions, audit systems, and prepare for integration.

Addressing Risk During Integration

Once a company merges with another, the risks to sensitive data increase. Highly sophisticated threat actors target M&A activities because, with operations in transition, high-value data is often vulnerable. 

The Technology Risks of Mergers and Acquisitions

In 2019, the IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed 720 executives responsible for the merger and acquisition functions at acquirer organizations. More than one in three said they experienced data breaches that can be attributed to M&A activity during integration.

IT changes may be extensive and cannot all take place at once. It’s essential to take time to fully understand inherited policies, equipment, and procedures before making rapid changes. Enterprise IT projects take time to plan and complete without disrupting day-to-day operations.

IT teams will deal with a new mix of assets, technologies, processes, and organizational culture during integration. Risks continue to evolve during the initial period of change as they learn more about inherited systems and processes. They may also be overwhelmed by integration tasks integral to day-to-day operations, so that security tasks may be a lower priority. It’s incredibly important to prioritize security and have a well-organized transition to ensure that sensitive data is not exposed.

The Personnel Risks of Mergers and Acquisitions

Changing personnel can also create gaps in your security program. Employees with institutional knowledge may leave the company, meaning crucial processes and procedures must be re-documented and updated. If teams are understaffed in essential areas, they may take shortcuts that leave sensitive data exposed.

Staff burnout and uncertainty from the transition can also lead employees to make mistakes. Phishing and business email compromise threats are prevalent in the early days of a merger or acquisition. People may report to new managers and fall prey to social engineering-style attacks because of their unfamiliarity with new reporting lines and company hierarchy.

It’s important to prioritize security training and update all employees on policies after a merger occurs. Clearing up ambiguity helps to reduce risk and builds trust in the organization.

How to Reduce Cybersecurity Risk During a Merger or Acquisition

Utilizing basic email security features like filtering and message encryption can go a long way to protect sensitive data and limit risks. Whenever confidential information is shared, it should occur through secure or encrypted channels. Leaked information can lead to negative consequences and volatility.

The best way to reduce risk is to plan for it. It’s critical to thoroughly understand the risks you will inherit by merging with or acquiring another company. This should include thoroughly reviewing risk assessments and IT systems and even bringing in a third-party to assess their cybersecurity. The time to find out about these liabilities is before the merger occurs, not on day one. 

Tags: business email compromise, cybercrime, cybersecurity risk, email encryption, email filtering, email security, hacking, phishing, risk reduction
Posted in Business Solutions, LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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