Numerous challenges obstruct cybersecurity in general, while maintaining IT security in particular within your organization is increasingly becoming tougher. Given the steep cost of even a minor breach by way monetary penalties, loss of trust, lost work hours, potential ransom payouts to get systems up and running, loss of revenue, and civil suits ― assuring secure IT networks and systems is the more cost-effective and safer option. It takes an individual and organizations years to build their reputation; but little time to send it overboard. Organizations in the healthcare and finance industries in particular must be especially alert about ensuring data security. Both rely on regular monitoring and audits to stay compliant and secure.
Why Do You Need Monitoring Within an Organization?
You might have watertight policies and procedures (P&P) to ensure cybersecurity and might have trained all personnel on the dos and don’ts to keep their systems and online activities secure. How do you know whether these P&Ps are being actually followed? You know that your P&P must meet all compliance requirements. However, are you aware of the IT security risks your organization faces, or even what are the vulnerabilities in the IT network? With stringent monitoring you will become aware the moment there is any kind of irregularity in the internet traffic of the office, facility, or any other location which can jeopardize the entire setup, or enough of it to throw regular functioning out of schedule. Since every piece of data generated within an organization is vulnerable to unauthorized access, your responsibility as the head of IT security is to prevent such an occurrence. For the healthcare industry, such data security is mandated by law.
Prevent Security Incidents and Data Breaches through Regular Audits
One of the major obligations of any organization, regardless of the industry vertical it operates in, is to ensure that security incidents and data breaches do not occur. When an organization has audits carried out regularly, it is in a much better position to identify existing and potential vulnerabilities within the system which could cause data breaches. That is why the OCR carries out both desk and onsite audits when it checks out all covered entities’ and business associates’ compliance. Regular audits — both internal and external — serve to verify that policies and procedures are being adhered to, and that the mechanisms set in place to ensure compliance are actually working. They also enable you to verify that the P&P to ensure cybersecurity are working at the operational level. The documentation that audits require ensure that you can establish due diligence in the unhappy event of a data breach.
Carry Out a Thorough Risk Assessment (RA) Before the Audit
If any irregularities or systemic flaws exist within an organization, they are likely to be identified during the RA and subsequent audit, thus enabling you to set in motion remedial measures. The RA should be followed by penetration testing, and patching of identified vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, many organizations focus only on the IT aspect of data security, such as network security and access management, but end up ignoring the matter of establishing physical safeguards. Yet, theft and other forms of loss of portable devices and human error are among the prime causes of data breaches. Note that the findings of audits often provide assurance of compliance.
Check to see whether a technical upgrade is required: One major benefit of periodic audits is that they enable the IT administrator to identify it when the growing demands on the network, and/or obsolescence of certain features require a technical upgrade. The latter might be needed to reduce operational risks.
What Kinds of Controls Must You Have in Place to Ensure Data Security?
There are numerous controls which are needed to ensure data privacy. One way to prevent security incidents or breaches is to establish appropriate controls. Therefore, you need to have explicit or well-defined control over every app used within the organization, and when an external information system is accessed. Not doing so makes the efficiency of the organizational security controls dubious. Under such circumstances, every time the organization extends waivers to its employees regarding access to external information system/s, these should be aligned to its established security policies and procedures. For healthcare organizations, audits and controls are essential components of HIPAA compliance, and a great way to establish due diligence on the part of the covered entity. In fact, the OCR carries out regular audits of covered entities to verify their compliance.
Conclusion
Since audits are also a control mechanism, you should get any of the following kinds of audits carried out ― documentation audits, internal audits, gap analysis, regulatory compliance audits, and cybersecurity audits ― depending on your specific needs. Strong data security and cybersecurity measures are vital to protect your organization from harm and disrepute.
Takeaways
- Maintaining its security within your organization is increasingly becoming tougher.
- With stringent monitoring you will become aware the moment there is any kind of irregularity in the internet traffic which can jeopardize the entire setup, or enough of it to disrupt regular functioning.
- Prevent security incidents and data breaches through regular audits.
- The documentation that audits require ensure that you can establish due diligence in the unhappy event of a data breach.
- Carry out a thorough risk assessment before the audit which should be followed by penetration testing, and patching of identified vulnerabilities.
- For healthcare organizations, audits, and controls are essential components of HIPAA compliance.
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About the Author
Veronica is a Certified Lead Auditor (LA) in Information Security Management Systems (ISO 27001:2022) with 3 years of working experience for a US-based HITRUST Certification Body (CB). This subject is one of the most complicated and advanced Common Security Frameworks known in information technology, information security, and cyber security. She has also tested SOC 2 Type II controls for large-scale US Organizations having multiple locations and business lines.
