Extending Legacy Systems to the Cloud for Secure Data Communications

Forescout researchers determined that 39 percent of IoT devices and 53 percent of common medical devices are still operating on traditional, legacy platforms. Research from Vectra has shown that the legacy systems, insufficient access controls, and the proliferation of medical IoT devices have created security vulnerabilities that leave hospitals wide open to cyber attacks. The study found that the majority of legacy systems are unsecured because healthcare organizations simply cannot afford the amount of downtime that patching requires. 

Unfortunately, legacy medical devices not only pose a risk to patient privacy but also patient safety. Cyber attacks can lead to such disruption in a hospital that the quality of care a patient receives significantly decreases. Research has shown that more than 2,100 patient deaths are linked to hospital data breaches each year.  

As hospitals recognize these vulnerabilities, investments in healthcare cybersecurity, endpoint protection, and data management technologies could reach $8.7 billion by 2023, according to Frost and SullivanThese investments will not only protect IT systemsbut most importantly, patient lives 

Here at ETHERFAX, we know that network security can directly impact patient care. To ensure that healthcare organizations can operate securely with legacy fax systems, we developed the Analog-to-ETHERFAX (A2E) device. As a simple plug-and-play device, the ETHERFAX A2E connects existing analog fax machines to the ETHERFAX network, allowing faxes to be sent and received via the cloud instead of the PSTN.  

Leveraging the ETHERFAX Secure Exchange Network (SEN), the ETHERFAX A2E device enables healthcare organizations to securely send and receive unstructured data with advanced encryption and guaranteed delivery while remaining HIPAA compliant. To provide 100 percent secure document delivery, ETHERFAX utilizes in-network routing so that communications never traverse an external telephone network. Black and White lists place further restrictions on the exchange of sensitive information 

Legacy systems can also utilize ETHERFAX SENx, the only end-to-end encryption transport in the industry. Using methods defined by the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES), information is encrypted from the moment it leaves the sending device or application until it is accepted and validated by the receiving party 

In addition to security, ETHERFAX allows organizations to send and receive high-resolution documents with near-diagnostic image quality. Images are rendered with superior clarity and coloring to help doctors decide on the best care and treatment options. The days of heavy, dark inking on a black-and-white fax sent over traditional telephony are over – clear, colorful images can now be sent within seconds.  

If your healthcare organization is looking for an ecosystem that is designed for secure, high-quality document delivery, contact us today!   

Paul Banco

As CEO of ETHERFAX®, Banco is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leads technology development, including the patented ETHERFAX and ETHERFAX SEN intellectual property. Banco helped organizations automate their fax server operations. As a visionary, he identified the need to leverage the cloud for secure document delivery and co-founded ETHERFAX in 2009 with other telecom industry veterans.

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