A Linguistic Approach to Information Security Awareness Education in a Healthcare Environment

Abstract

It is widely accepted that healthcare information security is extremely important and that security breaches will have serious consequences in many areas. Despite controls, such as legal frameworks, as well as ongoing research projects into healthcare information security and privacy, there is still an alarming number of healthcare information security breaches reported annually. In this paper, a linguistic approach, utilizing a vocabulary test, is proposed as a tool to determine security awareness levels of healthcare workers and to assist in educating them in security awareness aspects. A vocabulary-measuring instrument was developed and distributed to healthcare workers in a large South African hospital group. Results indicated that information security awareness levels are generally acceptable, but that potential problem areas exist between certain language groups, as well as between different business functions (departments). The study also shows that the proposed approach may offer significant advantages in information security awareness campaigns.

Mapping the Psychosocialcultural Aspects of Healthcare Professionals’ Information Security Practices: Systematic Mapping Study

“…The reviewed frameworks [8,[14][15][16]31,38,41,44,45,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] were not fully comprehensive. Meanwhile, security issues are affected by all these aspects and not just psychological, social, cultural, or sociodemographic aspects alone [38].…”

“…Based on the overview of existing literature [8,[14][15][16]31,38,41,44,45,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66], we concluded that existing frameworks lack a comprehensive and holistic perspective. Furthermore, not all frameworks provide strong empirical support for the inclusion of variables from the perspective of both security related-behaviors and professionals' characteristics [14,45,49,52,55,[57][58][59].…”

Preventing Medjacking

“…Health care facilities should offer educational sessions featuring health care information technology and cybersecurity experts who can provide clinicians with the necessary foundational knowledge. Noting the “ongoing need for information security education, and particularly for ensuring high levels of information security awareness among health care workers,” Drevin and colleagues used a vocabulary test to assess health care workers' level of awareness and knowledge 25. They concluded that certain security terms, concepts, and behaviors need to be clarified for health care workers, highlighting the importance of ongoing cybersecurity awareness education 25…”

“…Noting the "ongoing need for information security education, and particularly for ensuring high levels of information security awareness among health care workers," Drevin and colleagues used a vocabulary test to assess health care workers' level of awareness and knowledge. 25 They concluded that certain security terms, concepts, and behaviors need to be clarified for health care workers, highlighting the importance of ongoing cybersecurity awareness education. 25 Nurses who are educated about cybersecurity can play a critical role in informing patients who use medical devices and other clinicians about the risks and methods for reducing attacks on these devices.…”

“…25 They concluded that certain security terms, concepts, and behaviors need to be clarified for health care workers, highlighting the importance of ongoing cybersecurity awareness education. 25 Nurses who are educated about cybersecurity can play a critical role in informing patients who use medical devices and other clinicians about the risks and methods for reducing attacks on these devices. They should first convey to patients that they don't have to be technologically savvy to reduce their cybersecurity risks.…”