Dental Practice Cybersecurity: How to Prevent Hacks & IT Security Issues

Dental Offices are a Prime Target for Cyber Attacks

Dental offices are not immune to cyber attacks. In fact, in many cases they are a prime target! Small businesses containing health information are often targeted because of the wealth of information available. Hackers usually want to steal Social Security numbers, medical records and other personal data.

According to Risk Based Security®, a company who specializes in vulnerability intelligence, breach data and risk ratings data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records in the first half of 2019. Hackers attack every 39 seconds, on average 2,244 times a day according to a recent University of Maryland study.

The most common cyber attack methods include:

• Phishing/spear-phishing
• SQL injection attacks
• DDoS attacks
• And malware like computer viruses, adware and spyware

Dental Office Cyber Attacks Cost Money and Take Time to Fix

A breach of cyber security will inevitably lead to significant expenses, likely creating financial hardship. It can also ruin the reputation of a dental office. Hackers will oftentimes target small dental offices because they think they don't have the resources to prevent these security issues which can completely shut down and compromise IT networks.

Attacks can also result in locking out of all computer systems and files which can include billing information, records, and other data dentists and their teams need to properly care for their patients. This takes valuable time away from running your dental practice.

Now that you know what can go wrong, let's take a look at how to prevent hacking and turn away hackers.

Dental Practice Cybersecurity Hack Prevention

Here are action items to keep your data secure.

• Make attack prevention a number one priority and allocate a security budget.
• Software must be up-to-date and frequent updates should be scheduled.
• All network issues must be fixed to prevent security problems.
• Having a set of office procedures and adhering to office procedures is critical.
• HIPAA and cybersecurity training including understanding malicious email must be performed since over 90% of malware is delivered by email.
• Offices get nearly 50% to 75% reduction in cyber attacks against healthcare offices that properly train their staff.
• It is crucial to properly set proper permissions on files and get rid of any stale data.
• Office infrastructure - location of computers is key. Many data breaches are caused by loss or theft of devices. It is important to have the technology secured or located in a room only accessible by employees.

Customized Support from Darkhorse Tech

If a data breach has occurred it is imperative to have a plan to help mitigate the data breach. Our Support Team monitors and receives alerts in the case of a warning/error, and immediately jumps into action. We have specialized engineers and IT staff who are experts in hacking prevention and can help your organization reduce the risk of a security incident. We have 162 years combined Dental IT experience and have worked with over 600 dental offices.

Our security protocols include:

• Installing firewalls
• Encryption
• Anti-virus
• Web filters
• Anti-malware software

Our backup software is automated so there is no staff involvement with your data.

The backup solution is encrypted at rest and in transmission to meet HIPAA and Best Practices Security Standards. Our backup solution works with ANY Practice Management, Imaging and Financial Software. This advanced solution can backup your information while it is being used, keeping business continuity intact.

Hacking and security issues can have a massive impact on your dental office. With Darkhorse Tech you have the experts by your side so you don't have to worry about these types of issues. We will save you money, time and extra stress.

Get Started with Darkhorse Tech

Call to speak to a Darkhorse consultant for a free review of your dental practice cybersecurity at 1-800-868-4504

More information on Backup and Disaster Recovery.