What every physician needs to knoW:

cyber security best practices

1 manage your passWords

• Usestrongpasswords-mix8ormoreupperandlowercaseletters,numbers,andspecialcharacters.

• Don’tusethesamepasswordforeveryaccount.• Don’tshareyourpasswordswithothers.• Havealotofpasswords?Useapasswordmanager

applicationtocreateandstorethem.• Don’temailortextyourpasswords.Ifyoumustshare

them,doitinpersonoroverthephone.

2 maintain your softWare

• Removeapplicationsyounolongerneed.• Watchforandrespondtosecurityupdatenotices.Applythem

immediately.Theseincludeyouroperatingsystem(e.g.Windows7updates),webbrowsers(e.g.IE,Firefox,Chrome),andhelperprogramsusedtorunapplicationsandread/playfiles(e.g.Java,AdobePDFReader,Flash,QuickTime).

• Keepyouranti-virusprogramupdated,configuredproperly,andrunning.

• Encryptdataaccordingtoyourorganizationspolicies.

guard against phishing attacks

• Carefullyscrutinizelinksandattachmentsinemailsbeforeyouclickoropen.• Usebookmarkstosafelyreturntositesyouvisitfrequently.Usebrowser

functionsthatwarnofsiteswithpoorreputations.• Bewaryofalloutsiderequestsforsensitiveinformation;whetherbye-mail,

phoneortextmessage.• Independentlyverifytheidentityandauthorityofanyrequesterbeforedisclosing

sensitiveinformation,andthenonlyifthereisalegitimatebusinessneed.

3

keep sensitive information

physically secure

• Lockdocumentsawaywhennotusingthem.• Shieldinformationfromviewwhenothersarenear.• LockyourPCscreenandkeyboardwhenawayfromyourdesk

(Windowskey+LonadevicerunningMicrosoftWindows).• Keepmobiledevices(laptops,smartphones,tablets,USBsticks,etc.)

eitherwithinyoursight,orlockedupatalltimes.• Destroysensitiveinformation(hardcopyandelectronic)whenno

longerneeded.

4

avoid unsecure netWorks

outside the office

• Don’tconnecttotheofficefrompublicWi-Finetworks;useyourphone’scellulardataplaninstead.

• Ifyouconnectwhiletravelingorworkfromhome,haveyourITdepartmentsetyouupproperlywithsecureremoteaccess.

5

if you suspect a breach

• Donotpanic.Decisionsmadewithinthefirst72hoursofadatabreacharecritical,andmistakescanbecostlywithlastingeffectsonyourpractice.

• Donotturnofforrebootanysystems.Donotallowanyonetotakeanyactiononaffectedsystems.

• Recordcriticalfactsabouttheincident(dateandtimeofincident,whodiscovered,whathappened).

• Reportthesuspecteddatabreachtothedesignatedpersoninyourorganization.

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protection for a neW era of

medicineabout tmlt:Withmorethan17,500physiciansinitscare,TexasMedicalLiabilityTrust(TMLT)providesmalpracticeinsuranceandrelatedproductstophysicians.Ourpurposeistomakeapositiveimpactonthequalityofhealthcareforpatientsbyeducating,protecting,anddefendingphysicians.www.tmlt.org

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