3 Out of 10 Healthcare IT Departments Restrict Insecure Cloud File Sharing

According to a new study recently published by Ipswitch, the majority of healthcare IT professionals believe that it is very important for files to be securely transferred and shared, yet only a minority of healthcare organizations have implemented policies that restrict the insecure sharing of files in the cloud.

Ipswitch surveyed more than 500 IT professionals for the global study and found that while 82% said security was important, just 30% restricted insecure cloud file sharing. In the United States, use of cloud file sharing by healthcare IT professionals was lower than the rest of the world, with just 38% of health IT professionals saying they used cloud file sharing services. Out of those that did use the services, just 40% said they had policies in place restricting its use, while in Europe only 20% of respondents said they had introduced such policies.

Part of the problem is the difficulty IT departments have in preventing insecure file sharing. While IT professionals are well aware of the risk of data breaches and data loss, many employees use unsecured file sharing services and place protected health information at risk.

When asked about the ability of healthcare organizations to identify and mitigate risks, 38% or respondents said they had inefficient processes to identify and mitigate file transfer risk.

Healthcare organizations must defend their networks and data from a wide range of external threats. While the risk of data breaches and data loss due to malicious external actors is high, the survey revealed that IT professionals felt that the far biggest threat comes from within. 72% of respondents said that the most common cause of data loss was processing errors and mistakes made by employees.

According to Paul Castiglione, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Ipswitch, there is a clear disconnect between IT departments and the C-Suite when it comes to file transfer security. He said it is vital that IT teams communicate the risks to their organization’s leaders and ensure appropriate controls are put in place to protect data in transit and at rest. Castiglione said, “By implementing a MFT solution and enforcing strict policies, IT teams can make sure sensitive company data is safe and secure, without hassle.”

Author: Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of NetSec.news