Fortunately, our capabilities keep getting better over time. For devices and the endpoints, this includes technologies such as endpoint detection and response tools, managed detection and response, and automatic content recognition, all of which provide significantly greater protection than older endpoint solutions. The challenge for many healthcare organizations is to figure out how to become more agile and nimble with the protections that are being pushed onto their devices. The zero-trust approach to security is an effective way to achieve this objective.
Why Zero Trust Is an Effective Approach for Protecting Medical Devices
Traditional security approaches focus on protecting enterprise networks, but with the wide adoption of dispersed computing environment, healthcare organizations must secure data and devices far beyond the bricks and mortar of a hospital.
A zero-trust approach to security ensures that every request for access is validated against security rules that confirm the user’s identity. This approach uses microsegmentation to build a least-privileged network in which every user and system has its own perimeter, allowing users access to resources only after they clear strong authentication hurdles.
Healthcare organizations need to improve their security capabilities around visibility, analysis, vulnerability management and device management. Zero trust enhances these efforts by managing the identities of users on the devices that are accessing information and systems on their network.
Medical IoT devices reside either on healthcare networks or adjacent to the network itself. These devices collect and present data to patients and clinical staff, so IT teams need visibility into the security posture of each device and the data that passes to and from devices at all times. Every device is an enterprise resource and therefore must fall under the governance of an organization’s zero-trust approach.
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