Healthcare data security: Best practices and challenges in remote care

In 2023, one report valued the global remote healthcare sector at USD 10.2 billion. It’s expected to grow to USD 59.7 billion by 2032. Of course, the pandemic played a huge part in this growth. Buoyed by the success of remote healthcare during that time, many have come round to its advantages.

Firstly, remote healthcare is incredibly convenient. Secondly, it's a much more accessible option for patients. This can be extremely valuable in certain situations, such as when a patient lives in a remote location, has mobility issues, or is suffering from an infectious illness.

Nonetheless, it also comes with distinct challenges. And right up there are security risks. As the healthcare sector embraces digital and remote technologies, it must at the same time ensure confidential integrity. It needs to safeguard medical records at all costs.

Here, we're going to look at the importance of secure remote technologies in healthcare. We'll also outline the features and best practices to keep in mind when looking for a remote IT solution.

In this article:

• The importance of data security in remote healthcare
• Key challenges in ensuring healthcare data protection in remote settings
• Best practices for securing sensitive information in remote healthcare
• The role of IT providers in securing remote healthcare
• The future of data security in remote healthcare
• Summary

 

The importance of data security in remote healthcare

If you work in a healthcare organization, you'll know that it's vital to protect healthcare data. Healthcare practitioners always have access to patient financial information, social security numbers, and other personal data. This is incredibly lucrative valuable information.

This explains why hackers frequently target healthcare providers. Once they have access to this data, the hackers will do one of two things: Either use it to blackmail the healthcare provider (ransomware) or sell the data to the highest bidder on the dark web. After which, the buyer can use the stolen data in a series of follow-on ransomware attacks.

Probably one of the most infamous of these was the so-called WannaCry ransomware attack of May 2017. A so-called cryptoworm, it targeted computers running Microsoft Windows by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in Bitcoin. One of its main victims was the British National Health Service. Seventy thousand of its devices—including computers, MRI scanners, blood-storage refrigerators, and theatre equipment—were temporarily offline.

Making sure your organization can prevent data cryptoworm breaches is non-negotiable for a number of reasons. Most importantly, you can avoid the reputational damage and resulting legal and/or monetary impact of a data breach. Patients will be confident to share their patient information with you and not worry that it's going to end up on the dark web.

But while this sounds straightforward, there are several challenges affecting healthcare data security. And as we'll see, remote healthcare is even more vulnerable to security breaches.

Key challenges in ensuring healthcare data protection in remote settings

Cyber threats

These days, ransomware, phishing attacks, and security breaches are making it increasingly difficult to ensure patient peace of mind. And these attacks are becoming more and more common. Regulatory authorities in the US received reports of 725 data breaches in 2023.

In 2024, a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare exposed the protected health information of a staggering 100 million people. Change Healthcare said the hackers, ALPHV (also known as BlackCat), accessed their system through a single user account. How? The account did not have multi-factor authentication enabled.

Also this year, the Johns Hopkins healthcare data-security lawsuit saw the university and health company pay USD 2.9 million to patients affected by a 2023 ransomware security breach.

Increased device and network exposure

In large healthcare providers with dispersed networks, security is only ever as good as the individual links. When most of that network is remote, you’re even more exposed. Simply put, remote healthcare leads to an increase in the number of devices and networks that need to be secured.

Regulatory compliance

Regulatory compliance is vital in remote healthcare. However, essential regulatory standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and HITECH can be challenging to maintain in remote healthcare environments. Especially when the company in question is a global one subject to various standards. Simply ensuring compliance can be a full-time job, preventing IT teams from focusing on security threats.

Concentrating on staying compliant can also prevent IT teams from being prepared for new security threats. Regulatory standards are, after all, by nature fixed. Or at least slow-moving. By contrast, security threats are dynamic and become more sophisticated all the time. They need diligent monitoring.

Data access

In remote healthcare, making sure that only the right people have access to patient data is critical. But it can also be, unfortunately, incredibly complex. For one thing, the distributed nature of teams increases the risk of breaches. Weak authentication measures or unsecured devices can also expose patient information, violating privacy laws and trust.

Remote work also complicates identity verification, while sharing data across systems introduces further weaknesses. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based access controls, and encrypted communication channels is crucial. Safeguarding sensitive data while balancing usability, these steps can help healthcare providers to securely collaborate without compromising patient trust.

Outdated infrastructure

Often, the kind of equipment used in medical facilities is far from ideal. And this brings countless obstacles for delivering best-in-class patient care. Outdated legacy systems often isolate patient data, slowing workflows and adding stress to already stretched teams.

From day to day, this frustration can lead to a broader lack of enthusiasm about remote healthcare. Fair enough, if you're using ineffective tools every day and struggling to provide the level of care that you want. Still, with the right up-to-date tools, you can deliver high-quality care—even in remote or resource-limited settings.

Best practices for securing sensitive information in remote healthcare

Use robust data encryption

The proper use of encryption is a must in remote healthcare. Here are some steps to take to make sure it's delivering the right level of security:

1. Encrypt data in transit: Use TLS (Transport Layer Security) to protect sensitive data as it moves across devices or networks.
   
2. Encrypt data at rest: Protect stored data from breaches or device theft with strong encryption standards like AES-256.
   
3. End-to-end encryption (E2EE): In this model, only sender and recipient can access data (e.g., secure video consultations).
   
4. Key management: Use secure methods (e.g., hardware security modules) for generating, storing, and rotating encryption keys.

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA)

As we've seen with the above example of Change Healthcare, forgoing strong authentication can have disastrous consequences. Thankfully, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a reliable security tool often featured in remote software (including TeamViewer). When activated, it will prevent most attacks, delivering peace of mind to you and your patients.

Read more: Enhancing security with two-factor authentication (2FA) in TeamViewer

Use secure, compliant cloud solutions

When you're choosing a cloud provider, choose one with features specific to healthcare. Things like data encryption, redundancy, and regular backups to prevent data loss. They should always comply with regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, or local healthcare laws.

To prevent unauthorized access, your provider should ideally offer features like role-based access control (RBAC) and activity monitoring. Another smart option is a cloud provider with hybrid solutions. These allow you to store sensitive data on private servers while using the public cloud to grow.

Read more: Maintaining IT compliance in 2024: Is your business ready?

Regular security audits and testing

In remote healthcare, prevention is always better than cure. That means frequent audits to see the cracks in your security posture—before someone else notices them. This will also help you see what software is outdated and could lead to security gaps.

Vulnerability scans and penetration testing can help to simulate threats and assess your defenses. At the same time, you also need to ensure compliance with dynamic healthcare regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. These strategies will build your company's resilience and deliver greater patient safety and trust.

Educate healthcare providers on security measures

Any employee using a networked computer needs to learn how to recognize phishing attempts and other suspicious activities. When they're handling extremely sensitive patient data, as is often the case in healthcare, this is especially true. As your first line of defense, they need to be completely in the know.

Secure data handling practices, password hygiene, data encryption, and safe file sharing shouldn't be unfamiliar topics. Especially in a remote setting, employees should know to avoid unsecure or public Wi-Fi networks.

Regular training should educate employees in best practices. This will help you to stay abreast of emerging threats and keep your security practices current.

Read more: How remote access users can protect themselves from phishing and other social engineering hacks

The role of IT providers in securing remote healthcare

Choosing the right IT provider will go a long way to help you deliver secure remote healthcare. With specialized expertise, they will know how to keep your data secure.

The right provider can implement best practices such as advanced encryption, secure data storage, and real-time threat monitoring. They might also offer services like endpoint security, compliance consulting, and cloud security solutions to deliver data integrity.

As healthcare is so frequently targeted by bad actors, it makes sense to foster a close working relationship with your IT provider. They will help you enjoy the benefits of remote technologies— without sacrificing security.

The future of data security in remote healthcare

Trends and innovations

The pandemic drove a huge amount of interest in remote healthcare, and we're now seeing lots of innovation in the field. Biometric authentication is one example, which, by requiring biometric data like fingerprints, helps strengthen security measures.

The increasing ubiquity of IoT devices is also changing the business of healthcare. Smart wearables, home health kits, and other remote monitoring tools make remote healthcare in particular much more workable. For the Australian elder care provider Uniting (see above video) they’re dramatically changing how it delivers care.

The last thing worth mentioning are cloud security advancements. Remote healthcare providers now rely heavily on cloud-based infrastructure. As a result, future improvements in encryption, data segmentation, and access control systems are vital.

Legislation and compliance trends

The future of remote healthcare is largely dependent on the future of compliance. In response to increasingly sophisticated threats, governments may expand HIPAA or GDPR. In remote healthcare, new compliance requirements could also mandate advanced encryption, along with more detailed consent and reporting procedures.

As sharing becomes even more dispersed, we might also need more standardization across global healthcare regulations and healthcare systems. Staying informed about compliance—or partnering with someone who ensures it—is crucial for maintaining trust with regulators and patients.

Increased integration of AI and machine learning

Over the last few years, AI has also been making valuable contributions to the field of cyber security. In particular, it's extremely good at predicting threats and supporting data recovery. It can detect intrusions and support improved security measures across a diverse, remote fleet. With regular training, it can also respond to increasingly sophisticated attacks.

Summary

As you can see, it's prudent to be cautious with remote healthcare. After all, when you’re handling the most personal information, the stakes are incredibly high. Failure to have adequate security measures can lead to grave financial and reputational impact on your company.

But the good news is that it's entirely doable; all you need to do is prioritize security from the get-go. That means making sure your software and hardware is always up to date, and that users have the right level of access. All the while staying compliant with regulations.

Here at TeamViewer, we have experience working with healthcare providers. These include renowned brands like Specsavers, the London National Health Service, and most recently, Uniting. We help them get the most of remote technologies, so they can deliver ever-better care.

Why not see what we could do for you?