OREM, Utah, Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to understand more about the healthcare industry's recent surge of breaches, SecurityMetrics recently released The Healthcare Security and Compliance Survey to help pinpoint common security weaknesses in healthcare organizations. The survey will touch on many essential patient health data protections, including new requirements from the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule.

"With the introduction of new technologies and hacking tools, the protections necessary to adequately safeguard patient data have increased," said SecurityMetrics Director of Marketing, Jon Clark. "The problem is, we think physician, hospital, and pharmacy security hasn't necessarily grown to match emerging technologies, or even the updated HIPAA Security Rule."

With questions about network security, Wi-Fi encryption, firewall configuration, and software updates, SecurityMetrics is hopeful that the results of the survey will help provide further insight into why healthcare entities account for the highest percentage of all U.S. data breaches¹.

"Every response matters in this process," says Clark. "We want the information we gather to act as the defibrillator that jumpstarts a more focused approach to patient data security."

In early 2015, SecurityMetrics will share the analyzed results in a report to provide a security measurement for organizations to use in their own compliance strategies. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, and all responses will remain anonymous.

To take the survey, visit http://info.securitymetrics.com/healthcare-survey

To learn more about SecurityMetrics' HIPAA Solution, contact 801.995.6801, email HIPAA@securitymetrics.com or visit www.securitymetrics.com/hipaa

About SecurityMetrics (www.securitymetrics.com)
SecurityMetrics is a global leader in data security that enables businesses of all sizes to comply with government, healthcare, and financial mandates. Since it's founding date, the company has helped over 1 million organizations worldwide protect their network infrastructure and data communications from compromise. Among other services, SecurityMetrics offers HIPAA compliance services, penetration testing, security consulting, mobile device vulnerability scanning, payment data discovery, and incident response. Founded in October 2000, SecurityMetrics is a privately held corporation headquartered in Orem, Utah. For more information visit www.securitymetrics.com.

1. Navigant Consulting

CONTACT: Amanda Harmon, 1-801-995-6516, amanda@securitymetrics.com 

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SOURCE SecurityMetrics