HIPAA compliance is one of the most important responsibilities of any healthcare organization. Ensuring the security of patient information in the digital age is not a simple task. As organizations search for ways to provide HIPAA compliance assurance, they will turn to AI-driven WiFi monitoring solutions.

HIPAA and WiFi networks
Many processes in healthcare now depend on the WiFi network. This includes EMR and EHR, telehealth or virtual consultations, and video conferencing between healthcare professionals.

Each of these processes can include the disclosure of sensitive patient health information. This information is shared over and stored on the WiFi network. This means that the network must be impervious to attack, otherwise patient information is at risk.

How do you secure WiFi networks?
There are many practices to follow to secure a WiFi network, such as using different SSIDs, implementing the strongest security protocols, and ensuring there are no open ports on the network.

Ultimately, as with any security endeavor, it is important to have complete network visibility and constant analytics. Networks are dynamic, continuously changing. There is always the chance that a change could affect security. This doesn’t mean that networks are always one step away from ceding all HIPAA information to an attacker. Not at all. But it does mean that nothing can be taken for granted. Simply because a network was completely secure and not under attack yesterday, does not mean that the same will hold true today.

This is why WiFi network ecosystems must be constantly monitored. This includes the monitoring of all infrastructure, connected devices, and both WiFi and non-WiFi sources of interference. An issue within any of these areas could affect network security and HIPAA compliance.

This already requires the real time analysis of thousands of data packets a second. As WiFi networks grow in complexity, and as healthcare organizations become more dependent upon them, this analysis is going to become more critical and more time consuming.

The task cannot be performed by human teams alone. They do not have the capacity to analyze thousands of bits of information every second, and to monitor every connected device’s security, 24/7. Even an organization with a hundred IT professionals could not do this, and many organizations are seeing their IT teams shrink, not grow.

IT professionals must have the support of AI-driven WiFi monitoring.

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