#fightcybercrime – Working together for more IT security in healthcare

Working together for more IT security in the German healthcare system. That is the goal behind a new security campaign from CompuGroup Medical Deutschland AG (CGM). Under the catchphrase #fightcybercrime, CGM supports physicians and dentists in private practice with a comprehensive range of information and solutions individually tailored to everyday practice, the TELEMED Protect packages, to protect practice IT. After all, cybercrime can affect any practice. At the same time, the company guarantees with an investment promise to upgrade the TELEMED Protect Platinum IT protection package free of charge if it does not meet the final legal requirements of the upcoming IT security guideline in accordance with §75b of the German Social Code Book V.

Many practice owners believe that their relatively small practice is of no interest to hackers. They take only inadequate security precautions. But medical and dental practices in particular are considered easy targets for cybercriminals. The methods are varied: most often, patient data is encrypted or access to it is prevented with the help of extortion Trojans in order to be able to demand a ransom for decryption or release. Other types of malware (e.g., viruses) are also infiltrated into practice networks, where they infect the billing system with quarterly statements, for example. In all cases, practice downtime, recovery costs and loss of earnings are the result. If patient data is not only encrypted but also stolen, there is a risk of damage to the image, claims for damages and high fines.

To protect practice and patient data, in November 2019 the Bundestag and Bundesrat passed the legal basis for the creation of an IT security guideline in contractual medical and dental care (§75b SGB V). In this, established practices are obligated to ensure IT security within the practice. What many people do not know: Even the high security measures within the telematics infrastructure (TI) are only effective if they are integrated into a secure practice IT. The TELEMED Protect packages support those responsible for the practice in this regard.

So that doctors and dentists are not left alone with this task, CompuGroup Medical Deutschland AG (CGM) has launched the #fightcybercrime initiative. In addition to the TELEMED Protect packages Silver, Gold and Platinum, the IT security expert TELEMED provides comprehensive information on IT security basics for private practices at www.fightcybercrime.de. "Even with small measures, practices can make their IT a lot more secure, for example, through secure passwords on the computers, advanced and intelligent virus protection programs, and secured anonymous online access. Our free whitepaper 'IT Security Basics for Physicians and Dentists in Private Practice' - available on the website fightcybercrime.de - provides practices with important basics on the topic of IT security," explains Arthur Steinel, General Manager of the TELEMED division at CGM. "With our optimally coordinated, integrated and market-tested security products, doctors and dentists can already obtain all-round protection at a reasonable price. From the physician or dentist information system to the telematics infrastructure connection, TELEMED protects everything from a single source. You could also say: we take care of our specialty so that doctors and dentists can take care of theirs."

All users of a TELEMED Protect Platinum package also benefit from an investment promise: "If the legal requirements change and our product no longer meets the legal requirements of the upcoming IT security guideline in accordance with §75 b SGB V, we will of course upgrade it free of charge," explains Steinel. "For practices with the TELEMED Protect Platinum package, we thus guarantee the security of their investment. The product they purchase will be compliant with the IT security guideline as of publication."