Most people don't think of a senior living facility as a hotbed of technology. However, emerging services include skilled nursing, outpatient rehabilitation, and hospice care, and these are largely based on technological advances. Therefore, your residents' personal, medical, and financial information could be at risk if you fail to address any cybersecurity failures. The following tips will help improve your senior center's network safeguards.

4 Ways to Beef Up Your Senior Living Center’s Network Security

1. Understand Your IT Setup

You should start by learning what your setup includes. What kind of hardware do you have? This includes computers, servers, wireless routers, firewalls, and switches. Each of these items needs to be secured against outside threats, so it's important you don't forget hardware items in little-used areas. Be sure to also consider what software you have installed. 

2. Consider How Your Staff Uses Technology

The medical care industry deals with a lot of sensitive data. Medical and financial histories must be kept private at all costs. Also, the residents of a senior facility are among the most vulnerable age group. It’s therefore essential to know what types of data you're storing, where it is accessible from, and who can access it.

3. Assess Risks

Perform a careful risk assessment to identify where you could be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats and make changes where necessary. For instance, limit database access permissions only to staff who actually require it. Always remove access once an employee has left the position.

4. Educate Users

Train the staff and educate the residents about cybersecurity threats and how they occur. Many users simply don't understand the risks and would be glad to comply with more stringent security measures if you explain their benefits. For example, encourage all users to implement secure passwords—8 digits, using both upper- and lowercase letters as well as numerals and special characters—to prevent unauthorized access to the network.

For expert help upgrading your facility's cybersecurity, contact Halski Systems in Gainesville, GA. They’ve been providing managed services for businesses throughout Metro Atlanta since 2000. In addition to cybersecurity, they also specialize in VoIP, cloud storage, IT support, and data backup through their in-house headquarters, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Visit their website to connect with them online or call (866) 260-4457 to arrange a consultation.