Kenya Cyber Security Report 2015 Cyber Security Perspective from the Healthcare Services Sector Collins Ng’eno | Chief Information Officer, Nairobi Hospital T he past decade has seen an of the card, medical data is static and even increased growth in application if the breach was discovered there would of ICT in Kenya by healthcare be no way of invalidating the information. providers such as hospitals, specialist clinics and medical insurance providers. In January 2015, the Government of Kenya announced a partnership with a leading electronically in the country. Cybersecurity will therefore no longer be an option or While there are tremendous benefits in multinational as a key technology partner terms of care delivery and organisational for a wide-scale radiology infrastructure efficiency from the expanded use of modernization program. This program networked technology; adoption of is aimed at transforming 98 hospitals technologies such as connected medical across Kenya’s 47 counties through a devices, cloud networks and personal comprehensive, wing-to-wing solution health devices has introduced new package that will see modern radiology vulnerabilities. equipment available in public hospitals Healthcare organisations can no longer across the country. ignore the risk of cyber-attacks which has Unlike industries such as finance, which an after thought, but a critical strategic agenda that the healthcare providers in the public and private sectors should incorporate in their existing governance, risk management and business continuity frameworks. largely been associated with financial have already been transformed by The biggest challenge that this and technology, many organisations in the other similar programs face is availability healthcare industry have not invested of qualified radiologists to read and sufficiently in robust ICT security measures interpret the images on site due to the that can protect health data, interfaces, shortage of specialist doctors in the repositories, databases, connected medical country. It’s against this backdrop that devices or personal devices. we have seen the birth of tele-radiology With no immediate answers in sight for services in Kenya, where medical images organisations’ tight security budgets are transmitted over the internet to a and the limited ICT security talent pool, radiologist for purposes of reporting. managed security providers would The emergence of electronic health records (EHR), mobile applications and online portals has made it easier for institutions in the past. We are likely to see an increase in the frequency of attacks in the future and the financial and legal consequences will become more damaging. offer an ideal partnership for many patients and providers to access and The process is completely web based. share information. EHRs contain massive Once a radiographer (technician) in the amounts of personally identifiable hospital or clinic performs an examination, information which makes it very attractive the information is sent via a secure to cyber criminals. It is estimated that network to a team of radiologists who globally stolen medical information costs interpret the examination and the Managed solutions deliver many benefits up to 10 times more than credit card report is sent back to the hospital. ideally suited for healthcare security information in the black market, because unlike credit card information whose usefulness is limited to the validity period The above development will definitely increase the amount of medical information held or transmitted organisation. Such partnerships will help address existing security gaps and provide customized solutions aligned to the organisations’ business strategy. concerns and deserve a closer look from any healthcare provider ready to address the challenges that lie ahead. 30