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How to Keep Your Veterinary Practice Cyber Secure
At a time of increasing digital dependency, many veterinary practices are relying on digital solutions to manage client and patient data, as well as client communications. It is imperative to ensure that all these digital solutions, including your website, are secure and protected from cyber threats.
Reportedly, 95% of digital breaches origin from uman error, with 1 cyber-attack happening every 39 seconds- a 75% increase over previous years. A data breach can have a hugely negative impact on your veterinary practice, causing reputational damage, financial losses, legal liabilities, and even compromising patient care.
To ensure that your practice website does not fall victim to a cyber-attack or data breach, here are some top security tactics to employ.
Invest in an SSL certificate
The importance of online security has hit the headlines numerous times over recent years, so people are far more aware of the things they should be looking out for before sharing their personal information.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates create an encrypted connection between servers and browsers, which ensures that the data exchanged between your website and your visitors is fully protected. Websites with a valid SSL display a padlock symbol in the browser bar, which indicates to users that they can confidently enter their personal information without risking their security.
An SSL certificate will protect your practice website from phishing scams, data breaches, and many other threats. Ultimately, it builds a secure environment for you, your clients and your website; over the past few years, SSL certificates have become the basic due diligence that website owners can take. It’s incredibly easy to set up an SSL certificate, and it’s something that most hosting providers offer, with costs ranging from £1-200, typically depending on the level of security required or the functionality of your website.
Quick Points:
- Protects your confidential practice and client data
- Provides website security and verification- giving clients peace of mind when entering sensitive details
- Better search engine ranking for your website, giving your website an upper hand in algorithms
- Improves customer trust, setting the right tone
Keep your software updated
Security vulnerabilities often arise from outdated software and plugins, creating weak points that hackers can exploit. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to bolster your cyber security is to keep your plugins and software up to date. While plugins update automatically, software updates tend not to happen in the same fashion. Although it may be tempting to postpone making updates when they are available, they often contain crucial security patches designed to address newly discovered vulnerabilities.
To ensure that you’re always using the latest versions of every plugin and piece of software your practice relies on, it will be beneficial to encourage each member of your team to install updates as soon as they receive a notification that they are available.
Our Website Developer Jack’s Top Tip:
“Enable automatic updates where possible to minimise the risk of missing critical updates.”
Quick Points:
- Identify vulnerabilities
- Improve features and functionality
- Protect against evolving threats
- Reduce the attack surface
- User trust
- Interoperability
Maintain proper password hygiene
You might be surprised at just how many people are still using simple passwords such as their pet’s name that are easy to guess, but we can’t stress the importance of ensuring that your practice’s sensitive information is protected by strong passwords which are comprised of special characters, upper and lowercase letters, and numbers.
It is also important to ensure that the same password isn’t being used for more than one platform. Consider using a password manager tool like LastPass, that will keep your passwords safe through encryption and provide seamless access for your team to every platform they need to perform their role. Password managers can also suggest strong passwords, which is a surefire way to guarantee that every password used to access your practice’s data complies with password hygiene guidelines.
Implementing multi-factor authentication (often referred to as 2FA) is another element of good password hygiene, as it offers an additional layer of security. With multi-factor authentication, you will need to enter a password and confirm your identity via another method, such as receiving a code by text, using an authentication App or through biometrics such as a fingerprint scan or facial recognition. Remember that cyber criminals are often highly sophisticated, so this extra step could be the thing that protects your practice from a data breach.
Jack Peploe’s Top Tip:
“Passwords must be unique for every account- no repeating Fluffy123!”
Quick Points:
- Use Strong Passwords
- Avoid Password Reuse
- Utilise Password Managers
- Implement Multi-Factor Authentication
Choose a reliable hosting provider
Selecting the right website hosting provider is crucial for protecting your veterinary practice’s online presence. A hosting provider with robust security practices can help safeguard your site from potential threats. Here are some key features to look for:
- Comprehensive Security Measures: Opt for a provider that implements strong security protocols, including firewalls and malware detection, to protect your site from cyber-attacks.
- Automated Backups: Regular automated backups ensure that your data is safe and can be easily restored in case of an emergency.
- SSL Certificates: An SSL certificate encrypts data transferred between your website and its visitors, boosting security and enhancing trust. Make sure your provider offers this as a standard feature.
- Responsive Customer Support: Access to reliable customer support can make a world of difference, especially in times of crisis. Choose a provider known for its excellent support service.
- Reputation and Reliability: Research your potential hosting providers. Look for positive reviews, strong uptime guarantees, and a solid reputation in the industry to ensure you’re making a wise choice.
By prioritising these features, you can choose a hosting provider that not only meets your needs but also helps protect your veterinary practice’s website from security threats.
Incorporate online security into your practice’s culture
Human error accounts for more than 95% [See Cobalt link] of all cyber breaches, so it’s important that every member of your team understands the importance of safeguarding sensitive information.
There are many ways to ensure that online security is embedded within the wider culture of your practice, particularly in team meetings, team-wide newsletters, and dedicated training sessions to help your team understand the importance of online security, best practices and how to identify threats. Encouraging your team to ask questions and establish a reporting system to highlight potential threats is beneficial. By working as a team, you’ll find it much easier to identify potential vulnerabilities and address them before they become much more serious problems.
Implement access controls
Establishing access rights and controls is essential for safeguarding your practice’s sensitive information. By ensuring that each team member only has access to the actions, files, and platforms necessary for their role, you can significantly reduce security risks. While it may seem simpler to grant everyone administrator-level access, restricting permissions to only essential personnel is a much more effective strategy. This approach minimises the potential for cyber-attacks and protects your practice from unnecessary vulnerabilities.
Backup your website and practice data server regularly
To ensure your practice can continue operating with minimal disruption in the event of a system failure, it’s crucial to have your information properly backed up. We recommend creating multiple copies of your data, stored in various locations. In addition to maintaining a live backup of your website, consider utilising cloud storage and keeping an off-site copy in a secure location.
While ensuring the safety of your website may seem daunting, establishing the right framework and processes can make it a straightforward task- such as, obtaining an SSL certificate and regularly updating software.
For more advice on cyber security, please reach out to Veterinaryit.Services directly or to improve your veterinary practice’s website, you can get in touch with our expert team at VetsDigital.
Resources:
Top Cybersecurity Statistics for 2024 | Cobalt
Further Reading:
Veterinary IT Services Cyber Security Blogs
https://veterinaryit.services/maintaining-data-compliance-in-the-modern-veterinary-practice/
https://veterinaryit.services/nine-ways-to-get-your-staff-on-board-with-cyber-security/
Why Your Practice Website Needs an SSL Certificate – Veterinary IT Services
