Security concerns

It’s hard to believe that this will be the last newsletter for 2019.  The year has been a busy one for the HealthyPractice team, we have enjoyed all the contact we have had with you and we hope that you are enjoying the new website as much as we are. 

We will be taking some time off and will have limited availability over the Christmas New Year period. Normal hours will resume from 6^th January but you can still email us at business@mas.co.nz over the holiday period or call 0800 800 627 during usual business hours.

Our best wishes to you all for a safe, happy holiday season and a fantastic 2020 year.

Fiona, Chris and Shaun

This month we thought we would follow up our cybersecurity newsletter with some statistics and a few tips on practice security in general.

CertNZ provides a quarterly report on cybersecurity incident. The latest quarterly report available is for Q2 (1^st April to 30^th June 2019) and showed a 21% increase in incidents from Q1. 

Of the 1,197 reports in Q2 from businesses and individuals:

• 23% of all incidents reported some type of loss
• Scams and frauds were responsible for 38% of reports, this was a 41% increase for Q1
• Ransomware incidents increased by 38% in Q2, most reports from businesses and organisations
• Direct financial loss reported in Q2 equalled $6.5 million
• Suspicious network traffic increased by 150% from Q1

It appears that most security incidents happen due to human error, e.g. staff clicking on a link in a phishing email. Providing communication and training on how to identify phishing emails, checking spelling, email addresses and anything else that might trigger alerts, e.g. attached invoices from suppliers that you are unaware of, requests to update a password by clicking on a link.

Practices hold valuable information and need to be vigilant about keeping this information safe. Read our content with tips https://www.healthypractice.co.nz/members/management/management-systems/information-technology/cybercrime-and-security/ and you might like to find out more about cyber insurance or arrange a quote.

Cybercrime is not the only security issue for practices.  Over the holidays there may be times when staff are at the practice alone, have you put measures in place to make sure they are safe?

This can be as simple as a reminder:

• to lock doors if they are alone in the premises, especially if they are working in the back areas of your building
• Be aware of their surroundings when they are entering and exiting the premises
• Providing good sensor security lighting if staff are coming and going afterhours
• Panic buttons as part of your alarm security
• CCTV both internally and externally

There is content in HealthyPractice that give tips if your practice experiences an armed robbery https://www.healthypractice.co.nz/members/legal-and-risk/risk-management/armed-robbery/or other security risks https://www.healthypractice.co.nz/members/legal-and-risk/risk-management/other-security-risks/