President Biden Is Talking About Your Business When He Said This…

Yes, President Biden is talking about your small business.

All US businesses need to step up their cyber defenses to prepare for potential cyberattacks. And when you’re ready to take action, AZCOMP can help.

In a statement released on March 21, 2022, Biden said “If you have not already done so, I urge our private sector partners to harden your cyber defenses immediately by implementing the best practices we have developed together over the last year. You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely. We need everyone to do their part to meet one of the defining threats of our time — your vigilance and urgency today can prevent or mitigate attacks tomorrow.”

You might think that President Biden is referring to large singular organizations like the Colonial Pipeline. But the vast network of independent healthcare providers and their vendors (like billing companies) most certainly represent a major portion of critical infrastructure within this country.

The FBI 2021 Internet Crime Report showed that of all industries, the healthcare sector faced the most ransomware attacks in 2021. This includes independent healthcare providers, billing companies, clinics, surgery centers, and hospitals.

Due to the fact that healthcare is the hardest hit by ransomware attacks, and because healthcare is a critical infrastructure that needs to be protected, a new bill was just introduced in the Senate called the Healthcare Cybersecurity Act (S.3904).

“In light of the threat of Russian cyberattacks, we must take proactive steps to enhance the cybersecurity of our healthcare and public health entities,” Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada said in a press release on March 24, 2022. Russian cyberattacks are just the latest threat to the security of any small business in America, especially healthcare. But this isn’t exactly a new problem. Cybercrime against private healthcare and all small businesses has been an ongoing issue for several years now.

Independent medical practices and billing companies need to harden their cyber defenses immediately. According to SBA.gov (and our many years of experience working with small businesses), small businesses know they are vulnerable but aren’t implementing many cybersecurity measures.

Ransomware And Other Forms of Cyber Crime Is a Massive Problem

We take calls from our Medisoft customers almost on a weekly basis telling us how they have ransomware and they’re in dire straits. In most cases there is very little we can do to help. It’s too late at that point. It always hurts us to hear about a customer in this situation. Ransomware has the power to ruin a business without notice.

You may not hear about it in the news, but small businesses are experiencing major business disasters across the country on a daily basis.

Just recently we’ve heard from a Chiropractors office with ransomware, a Dermatologist, a Billing Company, a Urogynecologist, an OB/GYN center, a Neurologist, and others. In some of these cases, they were down for a few days. In some cases, they were down for over a week.

Cybercrime Is the 3rd Largest Economy in the World

Across the globe, cybercrime is a booming business. If cybercrime were a country, with estimated damages totaling $6 trillion USD globally in 2021, it would be the third-largest economy in the world behind the U.S. and China.

The reason that cybercrime is so successful is that it is so easy for criminals to execute their attacks. It is easy for them to execute their attacks because businesses aren’t doing what is necessary to protect themselves.

Anybody who is using the internet and/or email is at risk of ransomware and other forms of cybercrime. This includes large organizations and the smallest businesses. Bank accounts are being drained, money is being stolen, data is being stolen, and businesses are going down for days and weeks at a time dealing with these cyber-attacks.

These are major disruptions to a business, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

It Doesn’t Need To Be This Way

The tools and services are available to prevent this from happening. Although there isn’t a single product or service out there that can 100% guarantee safety from all the various cyber threats, when businesses implement a layered security approach with modern security tools, they are giving themselves a huge advantage in protecting themselves from an imminent cyber-attack.

Along with President Biden’s statement, the White House also issued this FACT SHEET: Act Now to Protect Against Potential Cyberattacks. The fact sheet outlines some minimum security standards that businesses should implement.

Following the March 21st statement from the White House, the American Hospital Association (AHA.org) similarly provided a list of action items for healthcare organizations. You may not be a hospital, but there is good information in the action item list that will give you something to think about for your own business.

We work almost exclusively in the small practice healthcare space and have put together a list of 15 different suggestions for small businesses to defend themselves against cyber-attacks. We feel this applies best to small healthcare organizations and mostly overlaps with the suggestions provided in the other resources.

We get it. We’re a small business too. This can all be difficult to understand and difficult to implement. However, we understand that the risks are great and we would really like to stay in business. The thought of ransomware in our business feels like a business death sentence.

Cyber-Attacks Can Be Prevented

With our list of 15-ways to protect your business against cyber-attack guide, we have small bundled packages at low price points that can knock out some of the big items on that list. We can also provide some of those items on an individual basis. We can also become your IT partner and handle everything on that list for you.

Please, seriously, consider the recommendations of the White House, the AHA, the SBA, and AZCOMP’s 15-ways to defend your business against cyber-attack, or any other list of modern security standards you find. Now, in the 2020s, you have to do more than just an anti-virus and cheap firewall. It’s time to step up your cyber defenses to protect your business.

If you have questions and want to ask a professional, give us a call. If you need help with any of it, give us a call. Otherwise, we hope this information is helpful in shaping your own business’s cybersecurity policy.

About AZCOMP Technologies

For two decades, AZCOMP Technologies, Inc. has earned the reputation as the most reliable provider of business IT services in the Phoenix Metro area. AZCOMP’s services are designed to help businesses get the most out of their technology. AZCOMP will help to eliminate the IT frustrations of the business, increase employee productivity, and increase customer satisfaction.

Contact AZCOMP today for your free technology consultation.