Strict compliance laws and high demand for increased data security has organizations in regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, and legal services leveraging the knowledge and expertise of managed service providers (MSPs) to setup and manage compliant IT environments. As the government and other agencies continue to tighten rules surrounding the handing of sensitive personal data, MSPs play a key role in keeping your employees working in a legal and compliant manner.
As data breaches increase, regulatory agencies are strengthening security requirements and imposing harsher penalties for noncompliance. Compliance is becoming an ongoing effort, not an annual assessment, so organizations that don’t have in-house security and compliance teams are struggling to keep up with increasing requirements.
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Healthcare
Patient information security remains a top concern for healthcare organizations. In fact, ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations is predicted to quadruple by 2020.[1] Healthcare organizations remain a primary target for hackers who are looking to compromise personal health information (PHI).
Healthcare organizations must comply with government-mandated requirements for protecting PHI. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) include rules for ensuring patient privacy through the proper handling of medical records. Under HIPAA and HITECH, healthcare organizations can face civil and criminal penalties for failing to protect PHI.
There are many other compliance requirements healthcare organizations are challenged with. Does your organization accept credit and debit card payments or have access to cardholder data? If so, you must adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Maintaining compliance as rules and regulations change can be a challenge for healthcare organizations, especially if you don’t have in-house security and compliance teams. For this reason, many healthcare organizations are turning to MSPs to relieve the burden of keeping up with compliance and regulation changes.
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With greater IT security expertise in the healthcare industry, partnering with the right MSP can relive regulatory compliance burdens from your organization. Working with a strategic managed IT partner will give you access to personalized customer support, 24/7 monitoring and management of your networks, and reporting that will prepare your organization for compliance audits and assessments. Partnering with a MSP will free up your in-house IT staff to focus on business-critical projects and ensures active security to keep your files and patient information safe and protected.
Financial Services
In 2019, ransomware damage cost is predicted to rise to $11.5 billion, and businesses are predicted to fall victim to an attack every 14 seconds.[2] Protecting sensitive data and personal information is important to keep a good reputation as a trusted financial service provider. With increased data security concerns and as the number of organizations falling victim to data breaches continues to rise, financial institutions must keep up with changes to compliance rules and regulations.
Financial institutions are heavily regulated, and the level and complexity of regulation continues to increase. Governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks developed by PCI DSS, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Information Systems Audit Control Association (ISACA), and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) all strive to protect consumer data, assess risk, and identify security gaps. Each entity provides useful recommendations for risk management; however, applying and perfecting security measures can overwhelm your in-house IT. Many financial institutions are turning to MSPs to relieve the increasing burden of compliance and regulation changes.
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With managed IT, your financial institution will have access to IT resources to help maintain compliant as regulations evolve. A MSP will help you develop strategies to enhance financial services compliance while reducing regulatory pressures. MSPs will also extend the skill set and capabilities of your IT staff, provide continuous monitoring and management of your networks, and quickly implement security measures when needed. Partnering with a MSP will reduce the time it takes to respond to security threats and will free up your in-house IT staff to focus on business-critical projects.
Legal Services
Sharp increases in regulation activity and many publicized data breaches has shifted focus within the legal sector to IT system security and compliance as primary initiatives. According to a CNA Professional Counsel bulletin, approximately 80% of the largest law firms in the U.S. have experienced a malicious breach.[3] Law firms are primary targets for cyber attacks because their servers hold incredibly valuable information including business’ IP, medical records, intellectual property, trade information, business deal information, and bank information.
The legal industry has a unique set of workplace requirements and regulatory compliance processes that can be difficult and time consuming to meet. Not only does your law firm have to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy laws, you must also comply with other industry regulations of businesses and organization you provide counsel for. For example, if your firm has access to client medical records, you must comply with HIPAA third party. The everchanging compliance rules and regulations that law firms must adhere to can be a huge burden on in-house IT. Many law firms are turning to MSPs to help relieve that burden, freeing up essential resources required to keep client services top priority.
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With managed IT, your law firm will access to IT resources and expertise to help keep your firm compliant within the industry and in your client’s industries. A MSP will also extend the skill set and capabilities of your IT staff, provide 24/7 monitoring and management of your networks, and quickly implement security measures when needed. Partnering with a MSP will reduce the time it takes to respond to security threats and will free up your in-house IT staff to focus on business-critical projects that help your firm deliver the best legal services for your clients.
The reliance on and importance of managed IT in healthcare, financial services, and legal services is continuing to grow. MSPs create a strong and secure IT environment for your organization so that you don’t have to worry about the security of your confidential information. Compliance is an ongoing issue, so it’s critical to have a strong MSP who holds security and compliance as their number one concern for your organization.
[1] https://www.csoonline.com/article/3153707/security/top-5-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics.html [2] https://www.csoonline.com/article/3153707/security/top-5-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics.html [3] https://www.cna.com/web/wcm/connect/61aec549-ac28-457b-8626-aa791c782459/Safe_Secure_Cyber_Security_Practices.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
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