1) Know what IoT devices are connected to the network. This sounds simple, but only 15 percent of organizations have an inventory of most of their IoT applications. Since organizations cannot protect what they cannot see, healthcare organizations need a live inventory of every IoT device connected to their network. This report will detail what devices are connected and where the devices are located, as well as other information, such as operating systems and software versions. When running a live inventory, most organizations find multiple rogue or unknown devices connected to their network. The latest generation of network access control solutions provide visibility into ALL devices including IoT.

2) Establish network access control policies for all devices. Once organizations have identified what devices are connected, using a Network Access Control (NAC) solution can control the amount of access and the behavior of connected devices. It not only monitors the behavior of devices, but also automates the process of adding new devices to the network. Strong network access control policies also provide a HIPAA-compliant security control that can enforce appropriate information access policies, by person or device, for personal and medical mobile devices such as iPads or smartphones. In addition, many NAC solutions can also simplify network segmentation. Splitting the network into different smaller sections and limiting access is an important way to protect sensitive data in case of a breach. Sensitive data can be placed in separate network segments and isolated from common network areas for guests, contractors and non-medical IoT devices, such as security cameras, HVAC sensors and office equipment.


3) Automate the threat response process. Today’s network breach goes undetected in the network for an average of 191 days, then companies require another 66 days for containment. This leaves hackers with plenty of time to search the network and steal valuable information. With organizations facing hundreds, if not thousands, of alerts per week, it’s difficult to separate the real alerts from the noise, then it takes hours or days to research each issue. One of the ways to streamline event resolution is to integrate with other security solutions to ingest multiple sources of log data to accurately separate real security events from false flags. A second benefit of automated threat response is that advanced solutions can correlate each event and the contextual information around the event (the who, what, when and where information) into one alert, to dramatically decrease the amount of time required to investigate and remediate security incidents. The third benefit is that automated threat response can immediately quarantine a device that is acting suspiciously to protect the network while the event is under investigation.

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