The Fourth Industrial Revolution created a new digital world for manufacturers — one requiring greater connectivity, agility, and efficiency than ever before. To keep up with global demands, manufacturers transformed into smart factories. Now, critical operations no longer rely on just legacy applications and perimeter-based security but, instead, complex networks of software, workstations, and devices, in several different locations, accessed by hundreds of people.

Put yourself in my shoes… a Code Stroke patient arrives in our busy ER. Time is of the essence. We need to rapidly diagnose and treat the patient to prevent long term paralysis or even death. But nothing happens until we can access their health records, review the relevant data, order a CT scan, consult our colleagues, and initiate treatment. And none of that can happen at all because our hospital has put in a new enhanced password policy. As well they should. Keeping protected health information (PHI) private and secure is of utmost concern in healthcare…but more on that later.

As the number of cyberattacks and data breaches continue to rise in healthcare, organizations and their patients’ health information (PHI) are increasingly targeted.

The concept of zero trust has been around for nearly two decades, but it is only recently that the security model has caught on and is now one of the hottest trends in cybersecurity. A Microsoft report found that 90% of security decision-makers are now familiar with the concept, up from 20% just one year ago. But adoption is still a challenge as organizations rethink how they handle identity management.

As the Manager of Information Systems at Wooster Community Hospital with 14 years of healthcare IT experience, Eric Gasser is no stranger to what tools are needed to help a hospital run smoothly. Wooster Community Hospital has used Imprivata OneSign for SSO, access control, and e-signing in MEDITECH since 2010, and recently implemented Imprivata Confirm ID for Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS).

Organizations must invest in solutions and strategies to combat persistent cybersecurity threats. Unfortunately, money alone cannot solve the problem. The reality is that these investments are unlikely to deliver a meaningful return if they’re not part of an integrated strategy that prioritizes user experience.

Read the full article at Forbes.com