This is to protect medical equipment from hacks, ensure data availability, and also protect patient-data privacy during the pandemic.
Endpoint security software company Kaspersky has announced free availability of its B2B core security products for medical organizations to stay secure during the pandemic.
The full list of B2B endpoint and cloud infrastructure protection products available for free for six months includes: Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud Plus, Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business Advanced and Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security.
Said Evgeniya Naumova, Vice President of the Global Sales Network at Kaspersky: “In this critical situation, healthcare institutions are under immense pressure and carry huge responsibility while saving people’s lives and fighting against the infection. Doctors, nurses and all medical staff take on most of the load and therefore need any support possible. We feel that it is our duty to support the medical community. In order to help these organizations focus on what matters most, we now offer healthcare institutions free licenses for key Kaspersky corporate products for a six-month period.”
Along with this initiative, Kaspersky also suggests that medical institutions follow cybersecurity practices and implement the following measures as soon as possible:
- Schedule basic security awareness education for both medical personnel and administration employees—it should cover the most essential practices such as passwords and accounts, email security, use of USB devices, PC security and safe web browsing. Explain to the hospital’s staff that there is an increasing risk of cyberthreats for healthcare IT systems.
- It is the right time to check the hospital’s protection solution, make sure it is up to date, configured properly and covers all employees’ devices. Switch on a firewall to enable protection from threats coming from the internet. The security solution should enable protection from ransomware as it one of the common threats for medical organizations.
- Ensure all specific medical devices are properly configured and updated, such as ventilators. If there is a chance that the number of such devices increases rapidly, develop a dedicated procedure to quickly install and configure all new devices.
- Some hospitals urgently hire new staff which means growing the number of endpoints, including new employees’ personal devices. This can damage visibility and control over corporate IT, so IT services should pay special attention to adding protection to these new devices. It’s better to have security profiles, policies and licenses in advance to just add them to new devices when needed.
- Make sure your current security solution enables purchasing of enough licenses for the increasing number of devices.
For more detailed information about the offering and its availability please visit the Kaspersky business blog or the company’s resellers. Other companies offer free software or extended trial use software for the pandemic period can be found here and here.
