Virtual Emergency Health Response
Cybersecurity
Loddon Mallee Health Services are participating in a specialised Cyber Security Program which includes assessment of: • Regional Cyber Security Protection • Anti-Virus Protection • Medical Device security review • Participation in an new Cybersecurity Awareness Program The cyber security annual works plan has been updated and represents the targeted initiatives and activities to improve the cyber security levels across the Loddon Mallee health region, in line with industry and Department of Health (DoH) standards. A number of these initiatives are in flight, whilst others are yet to be fully defined as they await the outputs of current audit or assessment activities (e.g. penetration testing and cyber security maturity assessments.) Case study Recently, a staff member fell victim to a cyber incident in which an attacker gained access to their personal Gmail account through a phishing incident. Unfortunately, the attacker was able to use this information to also gain access to the staff member’s corporate email account, as the same password was being used for both accounts.This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of using unique passwords for all of our online accounts, including our corporate accounts. While it may be convenient to use the same password across multiple accounts, it also makes it easier for attackers to gain access to multiple areas of our personal and professional lives.
I n October 2022, in response to the emerging flood emergency across the Loddon Mallee, the LMHN board endorsed immediate development, trialling and implementation of a Loddon Mallee Virtual Response to help connect patients from flood-affected areas to targeted care and support Now implemented, the Emergency Response Module enables the region to rapidly respond to, and coordinate, disaster events into the future. This ability is unique to the Loddon Mallee region, making the Loddon Mallee the benchmark for the State. System benefits of the implementation include: • Single, standardised method of monitoring clients, including use of standardised assessment tools • Dashboard views for local clinical teams Standardised systems across the region to support rapid on-boarding of additional staff to work in these services • PDF Summary created upon discharge of service, enabling sharing with GPs and Specialists • Cloud based, secure and accessible anywhere • Immediate integration for all agencies’ patient information systems • Cheap, sustainable and well-known platform, capable of immediate deployment due to existing infrastructure From project initiation on Friday the 21st of October, the teams were able to deliver the system, establish the service, and on-board the first health services within five days. The majority of the remaining impacted Health Services were on-boarded within the subsequent five days, with the final Health Service on- boarded within two weeks. The following Health Services were on-boarded to the Virtual Emergency Health Response service:
Thankfully, the LMSS Cybersecurity team were able to detect and stop the malicious activity before any greater harm could be done. But we want to ensure that all health service staff members are aware of the dangers of password reuse and take steps to protect themselves and our organisation. Simple safe steps As set out in our password policy, it is mandatory for all staff members to use unique passwords for their corporate email account and all other online accounts. Additionally, be vigilant of suspicious emails or messages and never click on links or enter personal information unless you are certain of the sender’s identity. By taking these simple steps, we can work together to elevate our cybersecurity awareness and protect ourselves and our organization from future cyber threats.
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Echuca Regional Health Service
Swan Hill District Health
• Mallee Track Health and Community Service • Robinvale District Health Service • Mildura Base Public Health • Rochester & Elmore District Health Service Future opportunities Significant opportunities exist to further develop this functionality and expand the utilisation of this service in future disaster events. Utilising existing functionality, the ability to support any future disaster event exists. There is also the potential to include functions such as large scale SMS capability that would support public health responses to disasters.
LMHN Regional Review | Issue 2 | Summer 2023
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