2015 Predictions: Healthcare

As 2014 comes to a close, our subject matter experts check in on what they see as major topics and trends for the new year. (You can read all of our 2015 predictions content here.)

2015 will be a year of transition for security in healthcare where providers and organizations in the ecosystem catch up with other industries regarding the state of their cybersecurity.

In many ways, healthcare is in technology and information overload, with no clear standardization on architecture, delivery or design. When evaluating healthcare security, it’s also important to look at the entire ecosystem, small to large hospitals, healthcare insurers, healthcare application providers, medical equipment manufacturers and to some extent pharmaceutical and bio companies. Why? They all carry information related to patient medical data, and intellectual property tied to healthcare innovation.

With that in mind, here are some 2015 trends to track:

1. Going Back to Basics

You will see healthcare organizations better emphasize visibility visibility and network segmentation, in terms of:

• Knowing what’s on the network at all times
• Making informed decision on where to invest in security first
• Identifying rapidly the areas that are high risk
• Methodically and logically starting to remove traffic that does not belong to the business of healthcare
• Implementing a better and more systematic approach to patching

2. Driving Better Awareness

We’re starting to see an evolution in the employee culture and decision-making power within healthcare organizations. Security’s awareness among key stakeholder groups – administrative employees, medical staff, patients and visitors and others – will continue to grow.

Culturally speaking, healthcare organizations will hopefully adopt more of a prevention mindset and foster greater collaboration within the broader ecosystem of healthcare providers, payers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies.

3. Security Automation

Security automation will become table stakes for security in healthcare because of the high volume of information and the flow of data.

Speaking of healthcare security, Palo Alto Networks will be at the Healthcare Cyber Security Summit next week, December 3 and 4, in San Francisco, and I will be participating in a Breakfast Panel from 8:00-9:00 am PT on December 4, “Even More Future-Proofing: Continuing the Conversation on Healthcare Security Solutions.” Register today with the code HCPA20 and get a 20% discount.

Security in healthcare is among many focus topics at Ignite 2015, where you will tackle your toughest security challenges, get your hands dirty in one of our workshops, and expand your threat IQ. Register now to join us March 30-April 1, 2015 in Las Vegas — the best security conference you’ll attend all year.