A hack can cost you business, compromise private data and finan-
cially ruin smaller surgical centers. But amongst all that doom and
gloom, there is some good news: You can take steps right now to pro-
tect your facility from a cyberattack.
First line of defense
Your staff can act as the first front against cyberattacks. For starters,
alert them not to open suspicious-looking emails, which are a leading
cause of security breaches. In an increasingly popular ploy known as
"phishing," hackers will send a malicious link in an email using an
address that could look familiar to you or your facility.
"Look at the email address and ask yourself, would this person or
institution really send me this email?" says Ellen Derrico, a cyber
security expert from West Chester, Pa.
The key to combatting phishing? Not taking the hacker's bait. The
"Cyber Security Checklist for Employees" (osmag.net/VwR7Fh), pro-
duced by Langate, a technology consulting firm in New York, N.Y.,
offers these steps:
• Hover over suspicious links to see the actual email address of the
sender. Don't open attachments unless you're certain you know the
sender.
• Be suspicious of a non-personalized email from someone you
hardly know that asks you to open an attachment or share informa-
tion.
• Beware of banner ads, especially those offering gifts that seem too
good to be true.
• Never share personal information with a link you clicked in an
email.
To block cyber criminals, says Langate, put your spam filter on its
maximum setting and report anything suspicious to your IT depart-
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