A healthy dose of network transformation
The origins of Acibadem’s general cybersecurity challenges are twofold. First, the new digital devices and cloud applications that are helping to make care more flexible, personalised, and data driven are also increasing complexity, opening the door to cybercrime. Second, frontline healthcare professionals are understandably focused on patient outcomes rather than on protecting sensitive data from cyberthreats. Acibadem’s cybersecurity challenges in Bulgaria include:
- Reducing attack surface: The volume of platforms connecting to Acibadem’s Bulgarian IT infrastructure is skyrocketing – increasing risk. For example, connected medical devices often lack built-in security, making them easy entry points for attackers.
- Liberating resources: With budgets tightening and local cybersecurity talent difficult to recruit and retain, Acibadem’s specialised Bulgarian IT team struggled to react quickly to fast-moving threats.
- Protecting against ransomware and malware: The high volume of sensitive data Acibadem’s Bulgarian hospitals deal with makes them prime targets for cybercriminals.
“Our network security was struggling to keep pace with the digital transformations occurring in Bulgarian healthcare. We needed a modern, reliable platform to act as the front line of defence between our Bulgarian hospitals and the outside world.”
Tsvetomir Nikolov
Group IT Manager, Acibadem
Unified visibility and no security blind spots
Before deciding which network security platform to deploy, Tsvetomir and his team ran a proof of concept (PoC), deploying Palo Alto Networks PA-Series hardware firewalls behind the active existing firewalls. The results spoke for themselves.
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Supports innovative medical technology and optimises patient care
The platform provides Acibadem’s Bulgarian facilities with comprehensive, simplified visibility across more than 3,000 users; a production data centre with over 200 virtual servers; and protects a vast array of diverse medical equipment. This enables a prevention-first approach to protecting and controlling the environment in spite of a dynamic threat landscape.
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Increases security agility
Connected security and complete visibility enable Acibadem’s Bulgarian hospitals to react instantly to any threat.
For example, since switching to Palo Alto Networks, the mean time to detect (MTTD) has dropped by 70% and the mean time to remediate (MTTR) has fallen by 50%. Moreover, there has been a 40% reduction in the volume of incidents.
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Reduces total cost of ownership
Cybersecurity staff have more time to concentrate on long-term strategy now, confident that immediate threats are visible and instantly acted upon.
For example, some 60% of cases are now fully automated, as opposed to only 20% previously. Acibadem has also increased security team productivity by 80%.
“We had four people on our security team, covering all the hospitals. We have been able to reallocate two of them to other tasks,” says Tsvetomir.
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Simplifies security and strengthens protection through consolidation
This consolidated approach simplifies management, reduces stress on Acibadem’s security team, and enables better enforcement of zero-trust policies – while significantly hardening the organisation’s overall security posture.
The integrated Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) provide a massive leap in protection. Palo Alto Networks Advanced DNS Security delivers comprehensive, real-time visibility that stops the advanced DNS-layer threats that previously went undetected.
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