If you work in healthcare, you know that your databases are likely vulnerable to cybercriminals. A cyber attack will not only shake the public’s confidence in your healthcare business but also ruin people’s lives.
You might want to consider edge computing systems if you can’t afford traditional IT cybersecurity. But what are these types of systems? And how do edge computing systems lower cybersecurity risks in healthcare?
If you want to discover the answer to these questions and more, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about edge computing systems and the many benefits that come with them.
What Are Edge Computing Systems?
Before we learn about how they can help with cybersecurity, it’s essential first to define what an edge computing system is. As the name suggests, these systems allow remote devices in areas like a small healthcare clinic to connect to the edge of the network, like an extensive hospital database.
Only the most important data is analyzed when the data gets back to the central database. This helps reduce latency by a significant degree.
It’s a phenomenon that allows people in remote places to access the full speed of a network. You can find more in this detailed article if you want to discover more about edge computing systems.
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What Are Cybersecurity Risks Present in Healthcare?
As this Forbes article dives into, healthcare represents a valuable target for many cybercriminals. This is due to the vast amount of personal information that’s stored on healthcare networks.
This can include personal patient information as well as things like names, social security numbers, birthdays, and home addresses. Cybercriminals steal this information, then use it to get expensive medical services.
They may also fill prescriptions in the patient’s name or purchase costly medical devices. So criminals will also work to get government benefits like Medicaid.
Sadly, most healthcare facilities don’t have the money necessary to create dedicated IT cybersecurity. However, as we’ll see, edge computing systems can be an affordable way to protect yourself.
How Can Edge Computing Systems Lower These Risks?
Traditionally in healthcare, sensitive data is stored in a central database in the hospital. However, this can be a problem. Why? Because data is often collected around the periphery of this database.
Things like nurse stations, surgery stations, and radiology departments all collect their data. Now, while the centralized database is usually safe, the same isn’t true about this periphery data. Until it reaches the central database, it’s vulnerable.
Edge computing is to solution to this problem. An edge system is properly distributed. That means that every department, from medical equipment to power management, has the system that it uses.
With an edge computing system, it becomes much easier to segment off the various networks. That means that the damage would be limited to that single subnetwork in the event of a cybersecurity attack.
The rest of the network would remain safe. Basically, you can think of it as dividing the healthcare facility up by virtual fences. If one of these fences becomes breached, you can easily protect the other areas.
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What Are the Other Benefits of Edge Computing Systems?
It’s important to remember that cybersecurity isn’t the only benefit that comes with edge computing systems. First, there’s the fact that you can work from remote settings with a fast response time.
Edge computing systems give some of your employees the ability to work remotely if their job position allows it. What’s more, you can connect the computing system to your medical devices to automatically detect potential mechanical failures.
Edge computing systems minimize the amount of data you need to rely on for cloud storage. Plus, local networks are much easier and more straightforward to maintain.
That means you won’t need to spend as much on IT costs. Considering the average IT employee makes nearly $100,000, it’s easy to see how this can save you money.
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How to Install Edge Computing
Edge computing hardware needs to be as durable as possible if you want it to be dependable. So, how do you find it? And how do you find the right professional to help you set things up? We recommend hiring a professional to help you.
Oddly, if you work in a healthcare facility, you don’t have much experience with edge computing tech. So, consider hiring a professional tech planning and design company like C&C Technology.
We’ll help you develop a comprehensive edge-computing storage strategy. We can also assist you with staying on top of remote working trends, like these new immersive experiences that could revolutionize remote work.
Interested in edge computing for your healthcare facility? Please contact C&C Technology Group, and we’ll take care of everything for you.
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The Importance of Edge Computing Systems For Lowering Cybersecurity Risks
As you can see, edge computing systems represent a great way of lowering cybersecurity risks for healthcare facilities. If you’re like most healthcare facilities, your budget is stretched thin with personnel and equipment costs.
As such, you likely don’t have much money to put toward an IT budget. Edge computing represents an affordable solution for people in your situation. It’s not perfect. But it can ensure that only a subnetwork is attacked instead of your entire healthcare network itself.
Just make sure that you develop a comprehensive edge computing strategy before you put it into place. That way, you’re sure that any patient information or similarly sensitive data is safe.
Last Updated on June 8, 2023 by Josh Mahan