Most Healthcare Facilities Lack Holistic Digital Identity Strategy, Report Finds

Most Healthcare Facilities Lack Holistic Digital Identity Strategy, Report Finds

What You Should Know:

– Healthcare facilities are struggling with implementing and enforcing holistic digital identity management strategies, according to the new Imprivata report released today titled, Security and Digital Identity in the Healthcare Industry.

– The findings show that despite 69% of respondents saying identity management is important to their organization’s security strategy, 51% have still experienced a security incident in the last year.

Healthcare Facilities Need a Holistic Digital Identity Strategy – Not Uncoordinated Solutions

The report reveals that healthcare organizations have made significant progress in protecting their systems from cyberattacks and data breaches, with over 75% claiming their security strategy has become more robust and comprehensive. However, the fact that more than half (51%) suffered a cybersecurity incident in the past year suggests a different approach is needed to enhance security.

Other key findings of the report include:

– Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents are currently using compliance, audit, and risk reporting technologies to combat these threats. However, only half of the respondents surveyed are using multifactor authentication (MFA), a core security technology that requires multiple verification factors to gain access to data and applications.

– Other critical identity and access management solutions that are being used by less than half of respondents include single sign-on (46%), privileged access management (PAM) (42%), and role-based provisioning and de-provisioning (35%). These solutions, including MFA, represent the foundation of a zero-trust architecture (ZTA). High complexity and poor user compliance are cited as top roadblocks to implementation, while 73% said lack of budget is not a challenge for their identity management strategy.

– Using one of these solutions is better than none, but the lack of a holistic cyber strategy can leave detrimental gaps and vulnerabilities. Of those that experienced a security incident, 51% cited the incident involved theft of customer personal identifiable information.

– Investing in cyber insurance is also one of the highest priorities for healthcare organizations in 2022, according to 39% of respondents. Over a third (35%) do not currently have cyber insurance, with 39% citing cost as the primary reason.

– 70% of respondents with cyber insurance said their insurance premium has increased between 11% and 50% in the past year. However, healthcare organizations are implementing digital identity solutions to reduce the cost of cyber insurance, with MFA and PAM cited as the most common measures put in place, according to 56% and 40% of respondents, respectively.

To read more about how healthcare organizations are approaching security and digital identity, download the full report here.