It’s an unfortunate fact of our digital age that one of the main concerns of any business should be the rising cyber threats. For dental offices in particular, patients’ sensitive medical information must be protected from cybercriminals who may try to access it for malicious purposes. That’s why dental cybersecurity is so important.
Each day, the risk of a cyber attack hitting your office is only increasing. Now is the time to prepare.
Important Cyber Stats of Note
If you are still sitting on the fence about whether or not your dental office is in danger, let’s take a look at a few stats that are sure to change your mind.
- More than 93% of healthcare organizations have experienced some form of cyber attack in the last 5 years.
- Just in the past year, 74% of healthcare organizations experienced a security incident. In these attacks, more than 30 million records were compromised.
- In one single data breach, the records of 25 million patients were compromised.
If your dental practice was on the bad end of a data breach, how would you tell your patients that their sensitive, personal health history had been leaked? How do you even go about solving those dissolutions of trust and safety? It’s time to start taking dental cybersecurity seriously.
Cyber Threats Facing Dental Offices
Phishing Emails
One of the most common methods of cyber attack comes in the form of phishing. Phishing is when a hacker will try to access sensitive information by posing as a legitimate source, like an email from a dental supplier. They may also offer free dental supplies in exchange for certain credentials. Once they gain access to your credentials, they’ll steal personal, private information.
Ransomware
Ransomware is similar to phishing, but with ransomware, the hacker takes data hostage and demands money before releasing it. These criminals are getting more sophisticated each day and dental offices can be particularly vulnerable if they don’t have the proper security protocols in place.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Business email compromise is when hackers pose as someone you know or trust, such as a colleague or vendor. The attacker sends emails that appear to come from this person asking for sensitive financial details or account information.
Mobile Cyberattacks
Mobile devices are increasingly becoming a target for cybercriminals. With dental offices using tablets to take patient information, it’s important to consider mobile cybersecurity when planning your dental cybersecurity strategy. Mobile attacks can come from malicious apps, insecure networks, and stolen data.
Data Breaches
Data breaches usually occur as the result of something within the dental office itself — an outdated system, an employee making a mistake, or someone with access to sensitive information accidentally downloading malware.
How To Combat These Cyber Threats
Despite the rising number of cyber threats and their increasing complexity, there are things your dental office can do to protect yourself and your patients.
- Remote Monitoring Management: Remote monitoring management systems can help dental offices track any suspicious activity that may occur on their networks, alerting dental offices when something is not right.
- Security Awareness Training: Training dental staff on best practices and security protocols can go a long way toward protecting your dental office from cyber threats.
- Advanced Spam Filtering: Advanced spam filtering software can help dental offices prevent malicious emails from reaching employee inboxes.
Strengthen Your Dental Cybersecurity with DMA Tech
With DMA Tech Solutions, you don’t have to worry about being caught off guard when it comes to dental cybersecurity. We have decades of experience in dental cybersecurity and are committed to helping dental offices protect their data. Contact us today for a free on-site consultation.
