1
Better Password Security
When you use the same password across multiple applications is very dangerous. Once a hacker cracks one account they’ve cracked them all. To prevent this you need complex passwords. The best way to manage and create passwords is to implement a good password manager in your veterinary practice.
Need help setting up a password manager in your hospital? We can help! Schedule a free call today to see how it will work in your practice.
2
Prevent Phishing
Phishing attacks involve sending messages that often look legitimate, but clicking the links included in them can provide hackers with your passwords and infect your veterinary hospital with malware. It’s easy to say just don’t click the links. But these criminals are professionals. You need good email and web browser phishing protection to truly keep you safe. Especially in the modern veterinary hospital where we seem to be busting at the seams and don’t have the time to check the validity of every link.
Need help protecting your veterinary hospital from phishing attacks? We can help! Schedule a free call today!
3
Protect Your Devices
Your devices contain all your sensitive data, so it’s crucial to protect them. Update the operating systems regularly and don’t keep all your data on a single device. Avoid using public Wi-Fi, log off when you leave your devices unattended, and leverage Full-Disk Encryption or Volume Encryption to protect against theft or loss.
Lucca can keep all of your devices up to date with the latest security practices so that you don’t have to worry about it and get back more time in your day.
Need help keeping all your devices up to date with the latest security patches? We can help schedule a free call today!
4
Protect Your Social Media Accounts
We live in a time when it’s almost mandatory to use social media. We use them for both business and private purposes. Hackers know this and use them to steal data and gain access to your networks. Make sure you create secure passwords, delete inactive accounts and monitor your posts and DMs. If you find something that isn’t scheduled or out of the ordinary, it’s likely a hacker gained access to your accounts. Always make sure to enable 2FA on all your social media accounts. This way if your login in credentials are compromised the hacker won’t be able to access your account without the unique one-time code.5
Limit Access
The idea of least privileged access is the process of limiting data access within your veterinary hospital to the least amount of access required for your staff to do their job. For example, with your social media accounts, limit account access to only a few key staff members. And limit their access to posting only and not full admins.
Need help protecting the data access rights within your veterinary hospital? We can help! Schedule a free call today.
6
Backups Are Not Enough
How long can your veterinary hospital function without access to your practice management system? You can have a backup but if it takes 7 days to restore your cloud backups, how good are those backups. Make sure that if you need to restore a specific data set that it can be completely functional within the time frame needed to keep your hospital operational.
With ransomware on the rise, hackers know you likely have some form of backups. That’s why they target backup locations as well. It’s vitally important to make sure your backups are ransomware proof!
If your server fails, Lucca can have you up and running within 60 mins! Want to see how the Lucca data vault magic works? Schedule a free call today!
7
Use Encryption to Protect Data
The encryption recommendation is relevant not only for backups — strive to encrypt all the files regardless of their location (stored in a server or on portable devices, attached to emails, etc.). A lot of times encryption is 100% free. You simply need to enable it.
Need help encrypting the data within your veterinary hospital? We can help! Schedule a free call today.
8
Use Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (2FA) allows you to protect your accounts and data even if your credentials get compromised. Therefore, use multi-factor authentication whenever possible.9
Have a Contingency and Incident Response Plan
Hackers are always reinventing themselves. Thus it’s important to have a contingency plan. Like good backups that recover in the time that you need them. By having an incident response plan you will know what steps to take in the event your veterinary hospital becomes compromised. Consider cyber insurance from the AVMA. This way, if cyber criminals still manage to access your data, you’ll get help from experts and avoid excessive financial losses.
Need help creating your contingency plan? We can help! Schedule a free call today.
10
Cyber Security Training
Hackers are changing their tactics regularly, thus it’s critical to keep your eye on the news and new methods they are deploying. You can always browse our Cyber Articles to see the latest cyber news in veterinary medicine. However, because most hospitals don’t take cyber security seriously, the older attacks are just as effective. it would be useful to train your team to make sure that they know how to behave on the Internet securely and protect their devices. Perform such training regularly to keep every team member “in shape”, and consider sending them fake phishing emails to test their behavior.
Need help training your staff on cyber security? We can help! Schedule a free call today.
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