ABSTRACT
Risks to healthcare networks include stolen medical record information and loss of control to a hospital network held for ransom. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act are the information management security regulations specific to healthcare. The standard outlines guidelines and general principles for initiating, implementing, maintaining, and improving information security management within an organization. Employees are the number one threat to electronic information management. The standard also provides a guide for the development of organizational security standards and effective security management practices. Security software either on the hospital network or on a separate network with access into the hospital network needs to be constantly reviewed to ensure that all patches and protection are up-to-date. Ensuring that the hospital network is secure falls on the IT director and his or her staff. Detecting a breach starts with the mapping of the hospital network.
