Few types of institutional and commercial facilities have embraced technology as fully as healthcare. From building automation to telehealth systems, hospitals and nursing homes of all sizes and ages have immersed themselves in digital opportunities that promise greater efficiency, comfort, safety and savings.

But with those benefits come a host of potential threats that IT departments also must prepare for.

Healthcare cybersecurity challenges continue to escalate. Healthcare is a prime target for cybercriminals, as healthcare organizations often house sensitive and personal data, and the already complex space received even more threats in the wake of the pandemic and telehealth expansion, according to MarketScale.

How can healthcare entities manage security concerns? It’s not an easy answer, and it requires a multi-pronged approach. The first part of having a robust cybersecurity plan is meeting standards, specifically the National Institute of Standards Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF).

While the framework covers every aspect of security, it’s not always easy for organizations to implement. A report from a cybersecurity consulting firm analyzed more than 300 assessments from 2019 and found that only 44 percent of hospital and health systems conformed with NIST CSF protocols.

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