Infographic: Healthcare Organizations Reluctant to Rush to the Cloud

Netwrix reveals the results of its 2016 Cloud Security Survey about the current state of cloud adoption among healthcare providers

Irvine, CA, April 18, 2017

Netwrix Corporation, provider of a visibility platform for data security and risk mitigation that enables healthcare organizations to proactively detect and remediate internal and external cyber threats, released an infographic based on its annual 2016 Cloud Security Survey that reveals cloud security trends and concerns of healthcare organizations.

The cloud is becoming a core technology for medical organizations because it can facilitate mobility and help them provide patients with faster and more efficient care, thanks to technologies like cloud-based electronic health records. However, due to major breaches like Anthem and Premera Blue Cross, the discussion about securing protected health information (PHI) has become quite intense. Hackers are constantly improving their techniques to compromise cloud environments, and the risks associated with unauthorized access by employees and third parties, sophisticated cyber attacks, and lack of visibility can make cloud adoption extremely challenging for healthcare providers.

Netwrix asked more than 600 IT pros to share their opinions about cloud security and key factors that hinder cloud adoption. The key findings from the healthcare industry include:

  • Healthcare providers are not ready for a big cloud move. The research showed that many healthcare organizations recognize the benefits of cloud technology, such as flexibility (80%), scalability (60%), and availability of systems and applications (60%). However, 40% of respondents said that they are not ready to move their entire IT infrastructure to the cloud for security reasons.
  • Security and compliance are the leading concerns. Healthcare organizations expressed concerns about the security of data and systems (64%), loss of physical control over data (57%), and regulatory compliance (50%). Most healthcare companies are skeptical about cloud security because of the risk of unauthorized access and account hijacking (64%) and the inability to enforce security policies at a provider’s site (57%). Finally, 61% of organizations said that their own employees pose a bigger threat to sensitive data than anyone else.
  • Healthcare organizations need visibility to be comfortable with cloud adoption. Overall 57% of respondents are worried about the inability to monitor user activity in the cloud. Since failure to keep cloud environments under control can make organizations more vulnerable to cyber threats, 93% of respondents stated that the most critical part of strong security is visibility into what is going on across their cloud or hybrid IT infrastructure.

"The past few years have been tough for the healthcare industry because of large-scale data breaches and pressure from regulatory bodies. Since healthcare entities collect large volumes of personal information, maintaining data confidentiality and integrity will likely remain a serious challenge for them in 2017. Visibility and user behavior analytics will help healthcare providers become more vigilant about signs of suspicious activities, enabling them to reap the benefits of cloud technology while ensuring security and compliance," said Michael Fimin, CEO and co-founder of Netwrix.

To learn more about ways to ensure the integrity of PHI, visit: https://www.netwrix.com/healthcare_industry.html

About Netwrix Corporation

Netwrix Corporation was the first vendor to introduce a visibility and governance platform for hybrid cloud security. More than 160,000 IT departments worldwide rely on Netwrix to detect insider threats on premises and in the cloud, pass compliance audits with less effort and expense, and increase productivity of IT security and operations teams. Founded in 2006, Netwrix has earned more than 100 industry awards and been named to both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. For more information, visit www.netwrix.com.

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Media contact:

Erin Jones
Avista PR for Netwrix
Phone: 704.664.2170

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