“Your files are encrypted!” flashes in bright red letters on your computer screen. And you’re told to pay a hefty sum right away, or else your organization’s entire system will be shut down. In many cases, panic sets in—because what are you supposed to do? The Z-CERT Center of Expertise has developed a handy guide for this, one that fits on the back of a beer coaster.
Be well prepared, because things can always go wrong. That is about the most important advice Jeroen Brouwer, business consultant at Z-CERT, gives to healthcare organizations. The cybersecurity expert had no complaints about the interest in his presentation at Zorg & ict. The room was bursting at the seams, there were even people sitting on the floor. All came for the answer to the question "Is your organization cyber resilient?".
Words of wisdom
“Good preparation is half the battle,” Brouwer begins his argument, “and after that comes practice, practice, practice.” Because, as he tells his audience, “what you rarely do rarely goes well.” A cliché with a high degree of truth, as he knows from experience. According to the cybersecurity expert, it all comes down to how seriously a healthcare organization takes the threat.
"Prepare your people for a crisis, make sure you have your processes in place and that the technology works. Then, should things still go wrong, we will be there to help. But we'd rather see organizations become active themselves and do everything they can to prevent a cyberattack."
Ransomware
The Z-CERT Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare institutions with advice and threat intelligence. The foundation, which is not-for-profit, relies on contributions from participating healthcare institutions and government grants. Z-CERT, short for Computer Emergency Response Team, has as its primary mission to make healthcare institutions more digitally resilient. This is no luxury in a time of geopolitical uncertainty, when cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and ransomware is lurking, according to Brouwer.
With a clear roadmap full of logical steps and measures to be taken, Z-CERT offers healthcare organizations tools to assess their own cyber resilience and take proactive action. Brouwer: “What does the organization consider important? Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined and well-distributed? What are its goals, and has sufficient funding been allocated to implement them? These are just a few components of the OTO (Education, Training, Drills) program that we’ve developed specifically for this purpose.”
Emergency Kit for Cyberattacks
The beer mat is a handy tool, allowing healthcare organizations to quickly measure their cyber resilience and what measures are needed. "You can see at a glance where you stand and where you want to go as an organization, which makes the felt very practical," says Brouwer, who insists on being well prepared for possible cyber attacks, which he does not consider imaginary. "Especially in healthcare, continuity is vital, so we want to guarantee that. Think of our help with that as part of the emergency package for your organization."
