Black Talon Security, a leading national cybersecurity firm and an AAO-endorsed partner, recommends steps that all dentistry practices should take to keep data secure and protect patient records.

“Preventing the theft of data and protecting business continuity must be a primary focus for owners of practices of all sizes; 75% of ransomware attacks in particular result in the theft of most or all of the business data,” said Gary Salman, CEO of Black Talon Security. “The average cyberattack will force a practice to shut down for two weeks, as well as negatively impact its integrity and reputation. This does not even factor in the potential for ransomware attacks which could cost businesses anywhere from $30,000 up to millions of dollars.”

There are many technologies and solutions that dentistry practices can implement to help prevent the theft and encryption of data. Black Talon Security’s top 10 best practices to help enhance the security of an organization’s network include:

  1. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for any application or website that supports it. MFA sends a unique code to your phone or activates an authentication APP to validate your login.
  2. Use strong passwords everywhere. Create strong passwords by combining a minimum of 12 characters, numbers and special characters such as @, $, #, & and !.
  3. Never use the same password across multiple websites or applications. Every website and/or application should have a unique password.
  4. Implement password management tools such as LastPass or Dashlane to manage and create strong/unique passwords.
  5. Utilizing remote access tools can present tremendous risk to your organization. Make sure you are using the paid business versions of these technologies as well as MFA and strong passwords.
  6. Train your entire organization to recognize threats such as phishing, spear phishing, social engineering, business email compromise (banking wire fraud) and proper use of removable devices. Test them using a phishing simulator.
  7. Employ a cybersecurity firm to evaluate your firewall(s) and perform real-time vulnerability management to uncover exploitable devices on your network that may expose you to a breach or ransomware attack.
  8. Conduct an annual penetration test performed by a third party ethical hacker to identify risks and how you might be breached.
  9. Perform a security risk assessment to evaluate how and where your practice may be attacked.
  10. Deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) based threat detection and mitigation technology known as Extended Detection and Response software on all computers and servers.

Black Talon Security secures 25,000 devices across the country and has trained over 13,000 business professionals on current cyber threats, including ransomware, phishing emails and social engineering.

AAO Member Discount Options from Black Talon Security
Black Talon Security (headquartered in Katonah, NY) is a cybersecurity company focused on protecting business professionals from cybersecurity incidents while helping them with compliance through education, training and documentation.

The AAO has partnered with Black Talon Security to offer a range of cybersecurity discount options for members, including: cybersecurity, HIPAA compliance and PCI (Payment Card Industry) solutions specifically for dental practices. To learn more:

● Sign into this website (www2.aaoinfo.org) with your AAO member username and password;
● Click below to access information about Black Talon Security services and discounts for AAO members.

https://www.blacktalonsecurity.com/aao