The field of healthcare is a big business, and when there is a DDoS attack on a healthcare system, it can literally be akin to a catastrophe. If you go through just one DDoS attack on the multitude of IoT devices you have, you will figure how important being prepared for this possibility actually is. Healthcare disaster recovery planning is an essential tool in keeping your healthcare organization running like a top, and continuing to meet everyone’s medical needs.
They say that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and that is definitely a principle that rings true in cyberattack preparedness. Healthcare IT experts from TrueNorthITG recommend that you focus on the areas that are consistently identified as high risk for a potential cyberattack. One of these would simply be that many health organizations do not have an effective disaster recovery (DR) methodology. There are several principles that should be utilized:
1. Make sure everyone has clearly defined roles
Now that we have established that every healthcare needs a good DR plan, it is crucial to understand the importance of appointing an individual responsible for putting the plan to fruition. One of the significant mistakes of a healthcare organization that appoints a DR manager thinks that they alone can be responsible for everything. Another side effect is thinking that by simply appointing a DR manager and placing it all on his or her shoulders, they have effectively solved a DDoS healthcare attack’s potential problem. Although having one person assigned to the task is better than nothing, the best way to view a DR planner is not as some superhero type. Instead, he or she should be viewed as a type of project manager. But in helping everyone have clearly defined roles, the DR planner really only has one role: to instill in their fellow employees the fact that disaster recovery and business continuity is the role of everyone, not just the DR manager.
2. A solid organization plan needs to be in place
In examining the conflict of business continuity vs. disaster recovery, it is essential to have an appropriate organizational plan in place. Many organizations work under a three-tier system with three steps: critical, necessary, and everything else. When it comes to cyberattack preparations, it is essential to address the best-case scenario and the worst-case scenario simultaneously.
3. An appropriate data collection process needs to be in place
One of the most oft-overlooked areas in DDoS preparations would be to instill in each employee the importance of having good data collection for their position. Each employee should have a system of organization that will help them respond to an outage and keep the machine running as smoothly as possible.
Conclusion
Everyone would do well to remember that DR planning is a continuous process. Within a labyrinthine organization, there is always room for improvement. Like the organization, the DR planner must be continually evolving and working smarter.