Ever found yourself wondering where your electronically Protected Health Information (ePHI) is stored?
In the fast-paced world of data management, it is a common concern, leading us to ask: Do you really know where your critical data resides? And, perhaps more crucially:
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Who has access to it?
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What they are doing with it?
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When does it get accessed?
These are the key questions that underscore the importance of understanding and managing your critical data effectively.
The Challenges CISOs, Compliance Officers, and Cybersecurity Professionals of Healthcare Organizations Face with Data Governance
Simplifying data governance within a healthcare organization is not an easy feat to overcome due to factors such as the stringent regulatory landscape, introducing layers of complexity to the process.
Even with tools as comprehensive as Microsoft Purview, there might still be gaps that require thoughtful consideration and strategic implementation to ensure a seamless and effective data governance framework.
Current Landscape of Data Governance in Healthcare Organizations
In 2023, 725 data breaches were reported to OCR and across those breaches, more than 133 million records were exposed or impermissibly disclosed. Between 2009 and 2023, 5,887 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records were reported. Those breaches have resulted in the exposure or impermissible disclosure of 519,935,970 healthcare records.
Day in and day out, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), compliance officers, and other cybersecurity professionals find themselves at the forefront of a digital revolution, tasked with protecting sensitive patient healthcare information and ensuring the integrity of healthcare systems. However, the demanding nature of their role brings forth challenges when it comes to data governance, including:
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The struggle with effective management of the organization’s current data governance strategy
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What data do I have?
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How can I find the data I need easily?
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How am I protecting it?
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The process of evaluating comprehensive tools and aiming to grasp its full range of capabilities
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How is the data being used?
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What else can it be used for?
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What else can the data tell me?
With challenges as such, it is important to adopt a unified approach to data governance. One that seamlessly integrates within your organization’s ecosystem, providing scalability and flexibility to adapt to evolving data needs.
This is especially important if your organization already utilizes tools within the Microsoft family. Considering a Microsoft Partner who knows Microsoft Purview inside and out can help leverage Microsoft Purview's capabilities and uncover its significance in healthcare cybersecurity.
The Role of Microsoft Purview in Addressing Data Governance Challenges
The need for robust data governance has become paramount. It plays a pivotal role in maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of healthcare data.
As the custodians of information security, CISOs, compliance officers, and cybersecurity professionals must not only comprehend the intricacies of data governance but also spearhead initiatives that align with regulatory standards and industry best practices.
Microsoft Purview offers a suite of core functionalities tailored to the unique requirements of healthcare data management:
As a general view of capabilities, these are some of the top challenges addressed by Microsoft Purview to combat the struggle with effective management of your organization’s current data governance strategy.
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Unified View for Streamlining Costs and Minimizing Risks: Microsoft Purview cuts costs and tackles fragmented data challenges, offering a unified and efficient platform that minimizes risks from data silos, ensuring a consolidated and cost-effective compliance approach.
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User Awareness: The platform enhances user awareness by providing clear guidelines on data sharing, and mitigating risks associated with unintentional data exposure.
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Uncertainty about the Location of Sensitive Data: Microsoft Purview provides clarity on data locations, helping organizations identify and secure sensitive data effectively.
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Missed Regulatory Requirements, Exposure Gaps, and Failed Audits: With its comprehensive data governance features, Microsoft Purview helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, close exposure gaps, and successfully navigate audits.
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Wrong Tools Doing Wrong Things: By offering precise data classification and management features, Microsoft Purview ensures that the right tools are employed for the right tasks, preventing errors in data handling.
From understanding the foundational principles to implementing robust strategies, Microsoft Purview stands as an indispensable tool for navigating the complexities of data governance in the healthcare industry.
Tailoring Microsoft Purview: A Strategic Guide for CISOs, Compliance Officers, and Security Professionals
Sometimes – maybe oftentimes – CISOs, compliance officers, and security professionals find it challenging to make the case for adopting a new security solution or making significant technology changes in a healthcare organization.
The challenge lies in explaining why it is necessary in a way that resonates with key stakeholders. From executives to IT teams, they need to know not just the urgency but also how the new solution aligns with the healthcare organization's goals, complies with regulations, and improves overall security. Presenting a clear return on investment, addressing specific problems, and highlighting long-term benefits becomes crucial.
Microsoft Purview is a potent tool, but its efficacy lies in understanding your organization's unique needs and tailoring its implementation accordingly. That said, here is a strategic guide on how to build a compelling Microsoft Purview use case:
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First, define the “why” and engage with critical departments: Initiate conversations with key departments such as HR, Legal, Finance, and Internal IT to discern their specific needs and challenges. Understanding their perspectives lays the groundwork for a purposeful implementation.
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Regulatory Drivers: Assess whether specific regulatory drivers are impacting your organization.
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Company Initiatives: Evaluate ongoing company initiatives and determine how Microsoft Purview can align with and support these broader organizational goals. Some questions to consider:
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How do these initiatives contribute to enhancing customer satisfaction or driving innovation within the organization?
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What plans are in place to sustain the momentum and impact of these initiatives over the long term?
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Are there any challenges or obstacles that have arisen during the implementation of these initiatives?
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Policy Compliance: Investigate whether employees are adhering to defined policies. Identifying gaps in policy compliance helps pinpoint areas where Microsoft Purview can reinforce governance.
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Data Governance: Implement robust data governance practices, including defining policies, workflows, and rules for data access, storage, and usage.
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Data Insights: Harness the impact, analysis, and management of data to derive valuable insights. Empower users with self-service access to trusted data, facilitating informed decision-making and driving innovation.
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Data Security and Risk: Strengthen data security by identifying sensitive data, monitoring data usage and access, and detecting potential security risks or vulnerabilities. This ensures enhanced protection and minimizes potential risks associated with data handling.
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Regulations and Standards: Clearly outline which regulations and standards your organization must abide by. This forms the basis for aligning Microsoft Purview with compliance requirements.
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Reporting Needs and Requirements: Identify the key metrics and insights that stakeholders require, establishing a framework for effective reporting through Microsoft Purview.
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User Data Interaction: Understand how users currently work with data. This insight helps in tailoring Microsoft Purview to align with existing workflows, ensuring a smoother transition and higher user adoption.
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Thorough Use Case Description: Create a comprehensive use case for each identified need. Clearly articulate how Microsoft Purview will address the specific requirements of each department and contribute to overall organizational goals.
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Success and Failure Scenarios: Outline success and failure scenarios for each use case. This proactive approach helps anticipate challenges and establish mitigation strategies.
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Data Security Needs: Determine what data needs to be secured and from whom. Create separate use cases for each scenario, addressing the unique security requirements of different data sets.
All in all, building a purposeful Microsoft Purview use case involves a strategic and collaborative process. By engaging critical departments, identifying problems, defining the end state, and building thorough use cases, CISOs, compliance officers, and security professionals can unlock the full potential of Microsoft Purview.
Why Healthcare Organizations Should Consider Microsoft Partner to Maximize Microsoft Purview Implementation
The intricacies of healthcare data governance, compliance requirements, and the evolving threat landscape demand specialized expertise.
If you are a healthcare organization facing any of the following challenges, you might want to consider a Microsoft Partner to maximize your Microsoft Purview implementation.
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Limited Resources and Talent: If you lack the in-house resources and expertise needed for seamless deployment of Microsoft Purview.
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Integration Complexity Can Be Daunting: If you find it challenging to navigate and ensure smooth interoperability.
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Underutilization of Automation: If you believe there is a potential underutilization of automation capabilities for processing and cataloging data. Without maximizing automation, organizations may miss out on efficiency gains and comprehensive data insights.
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Improper Setup Impacting Microsoft Defender: If you believe there is a chance Microsoft Purview is not set up correctly or if your data is not organized within the correct containers, it can have repercussions on how Microsoft Defender works. This misconfiguration can compromise the effectiveness of the overall security infrastructure.
Microsoft Partner brings a wealth of knowledge in cybersecurity, data protection, and regulatory compliance, providing healthcare CISOs, compliance officers, and cybersecurity professionals with a strategic Microsoft partner to navigate the complexities of Microsoft Purview implementation.
Evaluation of tools such as Microsoft Purview requires a thorough understanding of its capabilities. From tailoring the platform to meet specific healthcare needs to ensuring seamless integration with existing systems, Microsoft Partner offers a comprehensive approach on top of a comprehensive tool. Microsoft Partner proactive monitoring, incident response capabilities, and continuous support contribute to a more robust and secure data governance strategy.
Let’s explore how a Microsoft Partner uses Microsoft Purview to simplify data governance for healthcare organizations through its high-level functionalities.
Strategic Incident Response with Microsoft Purview:
On the reactive front of Microsoft Purview, a Microsoft Partner specializes in incident response and eDiscovery, offering a level of expertise that ensures swift reactions to alerts and facilitates seamless data breach investigations. While these tasks can be managed in-house, collaborating with a Microsoft Partner brings a depth of knowledge and a proactive approach that significantly enhances the effectiveness of incident response and eDiscovery processes.
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eDiscovery and Litigation Hold: This enables security teams to perform targeted searches and implement litigation holds swiftly. This functionality streamlines the process of identifying and preserving relevant data in legal contexts.
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Content Search: The platform's content search feature allows healthcare organizations to navigate their environment effectively, retrieving critical information when needed. This tool is particularly valuable for audits and investigations.
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Content Explorer: Consistently scanning the environment, the Content Explorer in Microsoft Purview offers a retrospective view of the organization's data. This tool proves invaluable for revisiting past environments and aiding in historical data analysis and audits.
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Audit Policies: Audit policies provide insights into the logging activities within the organization. This transparency enhances awareness of data interactions and contributes to a proactive approach to data governance.
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Insider Risk Management: Reacting to alerts generated in proactive steps, the Insider Risk Management feature helps bridge gaps between information protection, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and other environmental indicators. It serves as a vital component in identifying and mitigating potential risks.
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Communications Compliance: This supports healthcare organizations in ensuring compliance with communication standards. This includes monitoring and managing communication channels to mitigate risks associated with inappropriate content sharing.
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Retention / Records Management and Data Lifecycle Management: This assists in performing audits in reactive scenarios by offering comprehensive retention and records management functionalities, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and facilitating effective data lifecycle management.
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Subject Rights Requests: Microsoft Purview allows organizations to respond promptly to subject rights requests. Through efficient data scans and retrieval, healthcare entities can present requested data to consumers or appropriately delete it, adhering to privacy standards.
Maximizing Purview for Future-Ready Security:
On the proactive front of Microsoft Purview, a Microsoft Partner’s monitoring capabilities enhance Microsoft Purview's features by setting up alerts ahead of time to mitigate potential risks.
Who you partner up with matters. Your Microsoft Partner contributes significantly to the development and execution of proactive strategies. Their continuous support, coupled with a deep understanding of healthcare regulatory requirements, enables organizations to stay ahead of evolving threats.
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Unified Data Governance: Microsoft Purview fosters a proactive approach to unified data governance, ensuring that data remains secure, preventing leaks or unauthorized sharing throughout its lifecycle.
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Information Protection: This feature allows for the automatic classification of data, enabling the application of protection labels. This proactive measure ensures that sensitive healthcare data remains within the organization's secure boundaries.
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Data Loss Prevention: Proactively preventing certain patterns or content types from leaving the organization, this feature’s capabilities enhance security measures.
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Proactive Insider Risk Management: Setting up this feature ahead of time allows healthcare organizations to anticipate and mitigate potential insider threats, enhancing overall security preparedness.
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Proactive Communications Compliance: Establishing Communications Compliance in advance ensures that communication channels adhere to standards, mitigating risks associated with inappropriate content sharing before they occur.
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Retention / Records Management and Data Lifecycle Management: Proactively preventing data leaks or unauthorized sharing, this feature provides a robust foundation for comprehensive data governance.
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Privacy Risk Management: The platform actively scans the environment, identifying instances such as hoarding of sensitive data. By proactively informing healthcare organizations of potential issues, Microsoft Purview supports preemptive measures to mitigate privacy risks.
In adopting both reactive and proactive strategies, healthcare organizations can harness the full potential of Microsoft Purview, ensuring not only the resolution of immediate challenges but also the anticipation and prevention of future risks in their data governance journey.
As the Microsoft security stack evolves and introduces new features / solutions, a Microsoft Partner can ensure that your healthcare organization stays ahead of the curve. This collaborative approach enables security teams to not only address current data governance challenges effectively but also future-proof security systems against evolving cybersecurity threats in the dynamic healthcare landscape.
How Avertium Can Help Maximize Microsoft Purview
Leveraging the specialized skills of Microsoft Partner not only streamlines the implementation process but also enhances the overall effectiveness of Microsoft Purview in protecting sensitive healthcare information.
Avertium’s Assess-Design-Protect Approach provides CISOs, compliance officers, and cybersecurity professionals with endless support that minimizes risk, seamlessly scales operations, and maximizes investments.
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Assess: Get a clear picture of your current state. → Get a thorough understanding of your healthcare organization's Microsoft technology utilization, compliance status, attack surface, and risk positioning with Avertium’s 3-Week Security Baseline Assessment for Microsoft solutions.
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Design: Prioritize and optimize your security architecture. → Achieve immediate efficiency gains and work towards establishing a resilient long-term security architecture that can adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape.
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Protect: Fuse together your cybersecurity operations for continuous improvement and proactive protection. → Get 24/7/365 coverage and protection while consistently advancing through threat protection measures, seamless Microsoft integrations, proactive threat identification, and regular fine-tuning and testing.
Why Avertium?
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More Secure: Achieve a measurably secure healthcare setup that proactively manages risks and adapts to emerging threats. Our tailored approach aligns with your healthcare business needs, and our dedicated team focuses on advancing your cyber maturity.
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More Compliant: Avertium seamlessly integrates and operationalizes your healthcare data, covering your entire attack surface. This ensures continuous service, strategically reducing compliance-driven risks.
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More Return on Investment: Enhance operational efficiency within your healthcare teams, leverage external expertise for comprehensive protection, and maximize the potential of your Microsoft tools through Avertium's integrated cybersecurity solutions.
Connect with one of Avertium's Solutions Architect, Rob Wille (rob.wille@avertium.com).
Or contact us today to learn more about how we can help you maximize your Microsoft security stack.
This document and its contents do not constitute, and are not a substitute for, legal advice. The outcome of a Security Risk Assessment should be utilized to ensure that diligent measures are taken to lower the risk of potential weaknesses be exploited to compromise data.
Although the Services and this report may provide data that Client can use in its compliance efforts, Client (not Avertium) is ultimately responsible for assessing and meeting Client's own compliance responsibilities. This report does not constitute a guarantee or assurance of Client's compliance with any law, regulation or standard.
