Optometrists across Australia are urged to continually review their systems and protocols to data protection, as National Australia Bank (NAB) reveals healthcare is among the top five industries targeted by cyber-crimes in the country.
According to NAB Economic research1, 21% of health services businesses have already suffered a cyber-attack, with malware attacks (38%) and ransomware attacks (38%) being the most common issues. Small to medium businesses (SMEs) were most at risk.
Rapid changes in cyber-crime are putting health practitioners’ business and client data at risk, said NAB, prompting the HICAPS payments provider to urge practitioners to continually review their systems and protocols to ensure data is protected.
In the last financial year, a cyber-crime was reported to the Australian Signals Directorate every six minutes and cost SMEs an average of $71,600, according to the latest research by the Australian Signals Directorate, with incidents surging 23%. They also noted that healthcare was in the top five industries targeted in Australia.
NAB manager, security advisory and awareness, Ms Laura Hartley, said as the threat of attacks continued, business owners needed support to keep their operations safe.
“The number of cyber-attacks impacting SME businesses of all kinds continues to grow each year,” Hartley said.
“Healthcare practitioners are not immune to these risks and it’s imperative that business owners educate themselves and their staff on how to keep safe.”
Healthcare operators can take practical steps to counter threats such as social engineering, ransomware, business email compromise and phishing.
Executive of NAB Health and Medfin Mr John Avent said NAB had developed free support to help customers safeguard their businesses.
“As we move further into 2024, cyber criminals are looking for new ways to reach new victims,” Avent said.
“The good news is a number of safeguards can decrease cyber security risks.”
“NAB offers a host of training and materials to help businesses understand and educate their employees and customers including webinars via the NAB Business Security Hub (nab.com.au/securityforbusiness). The Australian Cyber Security Centre and Australian government’s ACCC Scamwatch websites have other useful resources.”
As part of NAB’s bank-wide strategy to support customers combat cybercrime, NAB Health is hosting a cyber security awareness webinar on 5 March, specifically designed for healthcare practitioners and their businesses.
Register here https://business.nab.com.au/nab-health-cyber-security-awareness-webinar/. If the webinar is missed, the recording will be available the following day.
Below are three essential steps to help protect a healthcare business from cyber crime:
• #1 Implement the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Essential Eight – developed by the Australian Signals Directorate, these principles provide baseline cyber security mitigation strategies, including multifactor authentication and regular backups. https://www.cyber.gov.au/resources-business-and-government/essential-cyber-security/essential-eight
• #2 Turn on automatic updates – using out of date software and operating systems can leave computers or phones vulnerable.
• #3 Educate the team to spot red flags – educate employees to identify suspicious emails, texts and other scams that could compromise security.
More reading
Cyber risk vigilance in healthcare
Cyber security: Aussie health system lags behind global counterparts
Reference:
1. NAB Consumer & Business Insights, April 2023, “Cyber Security Attacks & Scams: How prevalent are attacks & scams & how are businesses & consumers responding?” https://business.nab.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NAB-Economic-Research-Scams-and- Cyber-Security-April-2023.pdf
