Patient data is at greater risk than ever. AI can help

Patient data represents a treasure trove for hackers. Sensitive personal and medical information can be used in multiple ways, from identity theft and insurance fraud to ransomware attacks. It’s little wonder that data theft is increasingly common in the healthcare sector. In the US, for example, the medical data of more than 88 million individuals was exposed last year alone. The healthcare sector is far and away the number one target for cybercriminals.

The risks and opportunities of AI

AI is opening a new front in this cyberwar. As healthcare systems increasingly incorporate AI functionalities, there is a correlated need for ever larger datasets. Concurrently, the threat posed by data breaches increases, risking patient privacy and regulatory breaches such as with security measures incorporated in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These measures mandate that healthcare organisations adequately protect patient data, and that notification must be given in the event of a data breach.

The good news is that AI can be used to improve security. Used well, AI can also boost the security posture of healthcare organisations. Sarah Rench, global data, AI & security director & Databricks lead at Avanade, explains it this way: “Whatever your use of generative AI…ensuring it is secure and meets your privacy and compliance regulations is crucial to using it successfully. Once you’ve made progress on that dimension, you can explore how to use generative AI to improve your broader cybersecurity and build cyber-resilience.”

Defending healthcare organisations

As Rench points out, securing generative AI applications and using generative AI to enhance security needn’t be costly. With Microsoft, for example, organisations can leverage their existing licenses, allowing them to use tools like Microsoft Defender (an antivirus solution) and Microsoft Sentinel (for threat detection and security automation). In this way, CIOs and their teams can easily extend their existing security systems to cover new AI applications.

The next step involves putting generative AI itself to work in boosting security. Avanade’s Microsoft Security Copilot initiative is a case in point. This approach uses Microsoft’s new generative AI security assistant, Security Copilot, to help detect threats, manage incidents, and improve organisations’ security posture. The tool can be put to a broad range of uses, integrating with the Microsoft ecosystem to enable more effective incident response, threat hunting, security reporting, compliance and fraud operations, cybersecurity training, security virtual agents and more.

De-risking AI security deployments

As with any new technology, CIOs looking to implement AI-assisted security will have concerns around effectiveness, safety, business value, and return on investment. Here, working with partners like Avanade pays dividends. Avanade brings to bear deep expertise of the Microsoft platform as well as sector specialists and repeatable implementation frameworks that reduce time to value. This partnership-based approach can de-risk AI implementations and ensure the systems meet the organisation’s security and compliance needs effectively.

The threats facing healthcare organisations are only going to increase and become m0re challenging as the AI revolution unfolds. By leveraging existing security licenses to their fullest and turbocharging their security posture through tools like Microsoft Security Copilot, healthcare organisations can put themselves on the best possible footing to protect their valuable patient data.

Are you ready to put AI at the heart of your data protection strategy? Take a Security Copilot readiness assessment today.