Cyber Security

Episode #344 with Debi Carr (Covid Conference)

You wouldn't give your keys, wallet, and phone to strangers — but you're giving personal information to strangers online! And you may be doing it unawares. Phishing emails, security questions, and even that game on Facebook could all compromise personal information. And to help you be proactive in protecting yourself, your patients, and your practice, Debi Carr is here to educate you on how to develop a culture of security, both in and out of the office. For expert advice and best practices for cyber security, listen to Episode 344 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

We are giving away more personal information than we realize.

Always investigate when hit with ransomware.

When buying supplies online, buy from reputable and known sites.

If buying from lesser-known companies, investigate before giving your information.

Be wary of links and be aware of what you are downloading and clicking on.

Every practice should have a security manual, and a record of the training you’ve done.

Always use two-factor authentication whenever it is available.

Have an IT partner that fully understands security.

For patients and employees, have guest Wi-Fi that is off your network.

Be proactive and create a plan. Without a plan, it will take longer to recover.

Security doesn't begin and end in the office. Practice this everywhere.

Quotes:

“While we’ve been living in fear, there is one group of people that have actually been thriving. This is their dream environment, because any time a hacker can create fear, can create chaos, they are going to profit. And they have done that. As we become desperate, they thrive.” (00:36—01:01)

“In February alone, there were over 300,000 malicious websites that were listed with ICANN and with WHOIS. And this is where you claim your website domain — 300,000 of them. The FBI has identified, or actually, Google, has identified over 500,000 phishing emails, daily, being sent out. And over 200,000 of those have got malicious attachments with them. It’s crazy, because they know that if they can create panic, if they can create fear, that we won't think. We’ll just click, and we’ll go with it.” (01:12—02:04)

“We hear a lot about ransomware, but what we don't hear a lot about is the other viruses that can affect and infect a computer or a network system. And they are actually, as far as I'm concerned, do more damage. Because a ransomware attack, it’s bad. I'm not going to lie to you. That can be a devastating attack. They get into your system with a ransomware, they encrypt your system, you know they're there.” (02:20—02:48)

“Whenever you get hit with ransomware, you should always investigate, especially now. We’ve seen more sophistication in the attacks where not only are they attacking and encrypting the data, but they are actually exfiltrating the data now. So, it’s really important that you have a forensic investigation and do the response to a ransomware attack in a methodical manner.” (02:52—03:21)

“To me, the infection that is worse is infections such as keyloggers that sit in your system. We’ve seen LokiBot. That is a keylogger that sits in the system. And we know that it’s coming from emails. There's a lot of talk and conversation out there about contact tracing. And so, the hackers have jumped on that bandwagon and they're sending emails out from the World Health Organization saying, ‘You’ve been around somebody who has been verified with COVID-19. Click here. Download this so you know what to do.’” (03:22—04:09)

“What they're doing is they're allowing a keylogger, which is a type of virus that sits in your network, and it basically mimics everything and traces every time you hit a key on the keyboard. So, you go to your bank, you put in...