Adviser Vol. 3 2016 | Page 36

Cybersecurity Prevention System Helps St. Ann’s Community Defend Against Ransomware According to the FBI, “ransomware attacks are not only proliferating, they’re becoming more sophisticated.” (www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise) and criminal activity through techniques of behavioral analysis and anomaly detection. And it does so without the need to deploy additional hardware, software or personnel. That’s especially true for organizations such as hospitals and senior healthcare systems where confidential information governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a prime target. Unlike traditional solutions, Securolytics uses advanced statistical modeling and “machine learning” to independently identify new problems, learn from what it sees and adapt over time. Ransomware is malware that encrypts valuable digital files and demands a ransom to release them. (Some victims have paid up to $17,000 to regain access to their own servers.) In addition to financial damage, it can be catastrophic in the loss of confidential information, the disruption to operations and the potential harm to an organization’s reputation. “We reduce the effort needed to discover threats inside your network,” said Sanket Patel, CEO of Atlanta-based Securolytics. To ensure the security of its data, St. Ann’s Community in Rochester has partnered with the cybersecurity firm Securolytics on an advanced defense system. “With Securolytics, we have unprecedented visibility into our network and advance warning of cyberthreats,” said David Moufarrege, CIO for St. Ann’s Community. “The built-in dashboards and correlation mechanisms give us valuable early warning of potential vulnerabilities. And the best part is that we don’t need specialized resources to maintain it.” Securolytics’ proprietary Artificial Intelligence engine continuously monitors and analyzes network traffic. By comparing traffic fingerprints on St. Ann’s network with its evergrowing database of criminal fingerprints, the system can detect devices already infected with ransomware as well as those that are in the process of downloading ransomware code. If ransomware is detected, Securolytics alerts St. Ann’s IT team via Short Message Service (SMS) or email and takes action to proactively defeat the threat before damage is caused. That early warning system helps St. Ann’s detect and defeat ransomware like CryptoLocker, part of a new generation of malware that is more sophisticated than ever. Securolytics is a cloud-based threat detection and analytics platform. It addresses gaps in perimeter-based defenses by identifying the symptoms of a data breach, malware infection 35 David Moufarrege, CIO St. Ann’s Community Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Fall 2016