Transforming Cyber-Risk Management at Austrian Workers’ Compensation Board with xDome for Healthcare

Overview

Like many other healthcare providers, AUVA is currently facing increased cybersecurity threats arising from growing digitization and digital interconnectivity. Medical IT Risk Manager Theresa Fischer spearheaded a project to augment AUVA’s risk management and information security, ensuring better protection for crucial medical devices incorporated in IT networks.

Challenge

Before adopting Claroty, AUVA lacked a centralized system for effectively managing its connected medical devices. A fragmented approach involving various documentation concepts and Excel sheets resulted in poor visibility. The leadership team at AUVA was eager to replace their manual Excel sheets methodology with a centralized asset management solution. Furthermore, AUVA lacked resources or a method to identify the medical devices incorporated in its network, reflecting a lack of information about its assets.

Solution

In search of a solution that could provide comprehensive information about their connected medical devices, AUVA came across Medigate by Claroty. The capabilities of the Medigate Platform, such as visibility into IT/ MAC addresses, OS/FW versions, and a medical device-focused approach aligning with IEC 80001-1 risk management norms, gave AUVA the confidence to pursue the solution.

Implementation

Primarily, AUVA is leveraging Claroty for:

1. Enhanced Visibility: Medigate offers real-time data and statistics about all connected devices deployed in the hospitals and trauma centers.

2. Improved Risk Management: The risk charts and scores from Medigate provide data on high-risk devices, unsupported operating systems, and proven vulnerabilities. To reduce these risks, AUVA set up a Med-IT vulnerability team responsible for adopting the most suitable measurements in accordance with the vendors.

3. SOC Integration: Alerts from Medigate are integrated with the organization’s Security Operations Center (SOC), thus enriching the security monitoring and threat detection process.

4. Network Segmentation: AUVA grouped medical devices into several categories according to device types and documentation systems and uses Medigate to observe the internal and external device communication links. Then, to reduce risk, all medical device communication is regulated through a strict firewall ruleset. This approach led to a drastic reduction in high-risk devices, a result that was appreciated by the top management.

“It is a big benefit for me to finally have all information relevant to the medical IT risk management process combined and descriptively prepared in one dashboard so that I always know where to focus on.”

Theresa Fischer, Medical IT Risk Manager

Outcome and Benefits

Implementing Claroty’s solution provides AUVA with far-reaching effects, leading to a comprehensive understanding of the devices’ communication, reduced risk levels, and streamlined processes in the medicalIT risk management department. The integration of the Medigate Platform with AUVA’s security center, as well as real-time alerts implemented into the SOC, gives IT administrators a proactive stance on potential issues. Simultaneously, AUVA uses vulnerability and risk information to communicate with manufacturers to systematically find the most effective strategies to reduce risk. Moving forward, AUVA intends to intensify vulnerability management, further explore the utilization charts, and evaluate the benefits of possible integrations. Medigate’s 24/7 accessibility has offered several advantages and enriched many processes within AUVA’s medical-IT risk management, speaking to a markedly improved and comprehensive cybersecurity stance.