Don’t give your systems a heart attack
A heart attack comes from years of neglect and abuse. We see this in our patients who don't brush their teeth; over time it can contribute to something as serious as a heart attack. A cyber attack, just like a heart attack, is a reflection of years of neglect of your network and systems.
It’s easy to take our network and computer systems for granted. They turn on every day and do what we ask. But what if one day it didn’t? I often ask my practices, “If your assistant called out sick, what would you do? Probably work a little harder, turn over rooms slower, maybe ask another staff to help. But what happens if your computers won’t turn on one day? You would probably call it quits!”
Everything we do now: note taking, patient billing, patient care, x-rays, etc. is digital. All these applications run through a software system or two, and usually on a single computer. By neglecting those PCs over time we open up vulnerabilities in the system by not patching the software or updating the computers. These vulnerabilities leave our systems open to attacks.
Cyber attacks can be as basic as losing a password and having to back out fraudulent invoices, to being hacked with all of your patient data and billing stolen. An attack is detrimental to your current business and day to day work, but even worse, it could damage your business long term. If you are shut down for a few days, how long would it take a prospective patient to call another dentist? Or if a current patient is emailed by cyber threat actors to alert them you were hacked, do you think they will return?
These are real instances of attacks that have happened in the last year. Are you going to wait until a heart attack, er, cyber attack happens to your business? Siligent is the most proactive dental cybersecurity and service firm out there. Contact us today to set up your risk assessment and get your cyber treatment plan in place. This is what we specialize in, so you can quit losing sleep and get back to keeping your business healthy!
