Several key highlights from Fortinet on the current state of healthcare data security in todays’ world

• There are no existing standards for Asia to address data privacy of electronically protected health information and medical records.
• Medical records are also prone to attacks at the network level, via the web, email and directly at the databases. In fact, threats can enter the healthcare organization’s network from various points of entry.
• The HIPAA and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) enacted in the West are key standards for Asian region to emulate in order to address data privacy of electronically protected health information and medical records

Press Release

Fortinet Advocates Healthcare Organizations to Consider Their Data Security Strategy in Today’s Dangerous Cyberspace

MALAYSIA, 18 October, 2010 — Fortinet’s security experts have singled out Asia as the highest risk geography in the world today, compared to the Americas and European region. It is therefore imperative that Malaysia’s health industry takes on a more orderly way to communicate medical information, as globalization causes patients medical data to travel seamlessly across the world for professional and personal reasons.

“There are no existing standards for Asia to address data privacy of electronically protected health information and medical records,” said George Chang, Regional Director for Fortinet Southeast Asia & Hong Kong. “Security as an all-encompassing mindset for IT and business decision makers is still in its early stage, and verticals such as government and healthcare still has room to standardize practices, especially in Asia.”

He pointed out that the medical tourism industry in Malaysia can be seen as as huge potential sector with fast growth and increasing profit. Many international patients come from neighbouring Asian countries with less developed medical infrastructure. However, a patient may go from one hospital to another, but their medical data might not follow.

What’s more alarming is that medical records are also prone to attacks at the network level, via the web, email and directly at the databases. In fact, threats can enter the healthcare organization’s network from various points of entry. Just like country border security, it is essential to consider every possible entry points so that every form of attack can be thwarted. Other privacy concerns surrounding electronic medical records (EMR) include hacking incidents to alter patients’ data or destruct clinical systems, misuse of health information records by authorized users, long term data management concerns and government intrusion on private healthcare matters.

As it is with the state of security in cyberspace, there is no foolproof solution or a 100% secure plan, similar to the state of human health. However, the evolution of IT communication systems has opened the door for business, technology and medical professionals to create a better platform provided there is secure technology in place.

The HIPAA and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) enacted in the West are key standards for Asian region to emulate in order to address data privacy of electronically protected health information and medical records. Compliance requires the implementation of technical policies and controls over systems managing such information, allowing access to only people or software, which has been granted access rights. Today, Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) is leveraging the HIPAA as a guidepost to ensure personal data privacy for the healthcare industry.

As the threats in cyberspace are borderless and non-specific in nature, consolidated network security systems also known as Unified Threat Management (UTM) devices represent a solid solution to a dynamic and complex challenge for all verticals including the healthcare industry today.

“Fortinet is well positioned to help key players in the healthcare industry understand how they can pull together a proven, cost-performance effective and industry leading solution. Therefore, Fortinet advocates that healthcare organizations in the region and particularly Malaysia consider implementing a complete IT security strategy, while embracing the HIPAA compliance act,” said Chang.