What’s next for network security in healthcare?

Several factors have pushed security further into the remit of network security teams. We look at what this means for leaders right now.

Connected healthcare and remote working have expanded network perimeters, meaning there’s more for network and security teams to protect, and it’s not all in one place.

For example, 29% of organisations say their employees connect to an average of six different networks each week. Meanwhile, the majority (85%) say employees are accessing internal platforms through unmanaged devices.

Essentially, the possible entry points for bad actors to enter the network is growing phenomenally. This leaves network teams in a tricky position, especially as nearly a third (31%) of digital leaders say network-based cyberattacks are the hardest to defend.

Tool sprawl versus visibility

The tools you once took on to give you more visibility may actually be doing the opposite now your environment has distributed. Security teams are reporting that tool sprawl and changing estates have made it difficult to see a complete view of the network and everything that’s happening within it.

35% of digital teams lack visibility into complete network paths across internet.

70% of organisations say they operate more than 10 point solutions in their security stack.

40% of digital leaders rank cybersecurity as the bigger influencer of their network strategy.

The future of digital teams and end-users

IT talent shortages combined with user errors are becoming a toxic combination for network security, even for organisations that have strong defences in place.

A huge majority (80%) of breaches originate from attacks that target users who may accidentally create vulnerabilities. This isn’t helped by the 65% of employees who currently bypass cyber security policies when working in hybrid settings.

It means there’s a cultural element that needs to be addressed here. But that’s rarely the priority, particularly when teams are already understaffed and firefighting. In fact 61% of digital leaders say staffing challenges are a pressing cybersecurity concern right now.

Portrait of a young woman smiling holding a laptop

How much do teams need to do?

Network teams are investing in security, but most wouldn’t consider their current architectural resilience to be fully optimised.

14% of organisations are beginners in network security.
53% are at formative stage.
25% believe their progressive.
Only 8% are mature.

Balancing the budget

Complex environments and the pace of emerging threats is pushing network teams to invest heavily in security. However, budgets are limited, which means leaders must choose where to prioritise their spend. This decision is fairly split across organisations.