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INTELLIGENT VERTICAL: HEALTHCARE
SAFER HEALTHCARE
IOT INFRASTRUCTURE
IN SEVEN STEPS
With the cybersecurity of healthcare organisations at
greater risk than ever before, Gamal Emara, Country
Manager, UAE at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise
company, looks at how healthcare organisations can
achieve a safer IoT infrastructure.
I
oT devices may offer extraordinary
benefits in healthcare. From improving
patient outcomes, staff effectiveness
and operational cost savings, it could also
bring with them new security risks. Any type
of connected device is a potential risk, even
wireless lightbulbs, so it’s imperative that
healthcare institutions do everything they
can to stem the flow of malicious attackers.
This calls for a multi-layered security
approach to mitigate these threats.
Step one: Know your network,
inside and out
To secure the network that your IoT
infrastructure connects into, it’s important to
know exactly what’s running on it. As more
employees and users become more network
savvy, it’s hard to keep track of what is being
connected to the network because it’s no
longer just IT professionals who are making
the connections.
www.intelligentcio.com
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To combat this threat, a modern network
access control solution is a great starting
place, with a roles-based management
and network segmentation solution. These
solutions will enable network and security
managers to set policies around ‘things’ and
devices, meaning that not just anyone can
connect to the network. THE ATTACK
SURFACE
HAS GROWN
EXPONENTIALLY.
On top of this, it’s also possible to set
permissions on what data and applications
they can access, as well as setting rules
to who can manage and maintain these
networks and devices. Step two: Users, devices and things
have roles, know them
These solutions automatically monitor
connections to the network, and can
isolate without the need for IT staff to
action the quarantine.
Assigned IT staff will then be notified
to take action against the suspected
malicious incident.
To ensure the efficient running of the network,
it’s important to consider the myriad of
devices that carry the ability to transmit
data, locate them on the network, and
consider how they could be used to create an
integrated and innovative experience.
In healthcare, patient monitoring within
a surgery ward could keep track of vital
signs, such as heart rate, without physically
attending the bedside. This ability could
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