The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released its October Cybersecurity Newsletter last week with a focus on mobile devices. Given the amount of work conducted on mobile devices (odds are that at least some of you are reading this on a smart phone), the newsletter is practical for many in the health care industry. It is also timely in light of the increasing development and use of health apps. (For those developers interested in HIPAA and mobile devices, see our recent post here.)

The key HIPAA risk faced by those in the health care sector using mobile devices is the compromise of electronic protected health information (ePHI); a risk that is compounded by the portability and lack of robust security on these devices. In its newsletter, OCR advises organizations to take some important steps to ensure that ePHI is well-protected on mobile devices. According to OCR, organizations should:

• Ensure that mobile devices are properly configured before accessing/storing ePHI
• Train employees on the secure use of mobile devices and the risks of malware infecting mobile devices
• Implement policies and procedures for mobile devices
• Take certain IT-related precautions such as:
  • Automatic lock/logoff
  • Logon authentication
  • Regular software/security patch updates
  • Encryption, anti-virus and remote wipe capabilities
  • Use ONLY secure Wi-Fi connections
  • Use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
  • Limit downloads to only verified third-party apps

Depending on the size of your organization, some of these recommendations might sound a bit involved, but any efforts now can go a long way to saving you from a data breach. This is particularly true when considering that a breach involving health records can cost upwards of $350 per record.

The newsletter also contains links to much more detailed guidance and information for how to minimize cybersecurity risk on mobile devices.