Health Empowerment for Indigenous Communities
Gidgee Healing has been a pillar of health empowerment for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for over two decades. Serving as Queensland’s largest Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service provider, Gidgee is committed to promoting healthier and longer lives within these communities. To enhance the delivery of these services, Gidgee relies on practice management software that runs on a secure platform managed by Future IT Services.
A Successful IT Partnership:
Future IT Services and Gidgee Healing
Future IT Services has been instrumental in supporting Gidgee’s mission for the last seven years by ensuring the security and availability of their IT infrastructure and network. This well-maintained IT landscape has allowed Gidgee to focus on improving the health of Indigenous Australians within their service area without encountering significant technical issues.
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Identifying the Need for Stronger Cyber Safeguards
Gidgee recognised the increasing cyber threats within the healthcare sector when they observed the negative fallout from a data breach incident reported among industry peers in the first half of 2022. The risks associated with data breaches prompted Gidgee to request Future IT Services to undertake a thorough review of their cybersecurity framework.
Building Cyber Immunity: Future IT Services Steps Up
Understanding the stakes, Future IT Services promptly carried out a comprehensive cybersecurity review for Gidgee. The review showed a secure environment overall but identified areas for potential improvement.
Striving for the Essential 8 Maturity Level 2
Based on their findings, Future IT Services recommended Gidgee to aim for the Essential 8 Maturity Level 2, the highest feasible level of protection implementable within a three-month period. The goal was set to boost Gidgee’s cyber resilience and align with the 11% of entities who had achieved this maturity level by 2022.
Weighing the Costs: Prevention Over Cure
Although cost was a concern for Gidgee, Future IT Services presented a compelling cost-benefit analysis. The potential heavy costs of a data breach outweighed the investment in preventive cybersecurity measures, leading to the approval of the plan.
Seamless Implementation and Thwarting an Attempted Attack
Future IT Services initiated the implementation by conducting a detailed assessment of Gidgee’s security policies, identifying outdated software and weak password policies as vulnerabilities. They then installed application controls and multi-factor authentication, strengthening the barriers against unauthorised access.
Additionally, a security operations centre (SOC) was set up to monitor suspicious activity and security information and event management (SIEM) tools were deployed to promptly detect and respond to security incidents. This newly installed defence system obstructed an attempted attack, showcasing the effectiveness of the cybersecurity strategy.
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Cyber Safety Enhanced: Maturity Level 2 Achieved
Future IT Services successfully established a secure baseline for Gidgee’s IT environment, offering 24/7 monitoring. The implementation of Maturity Level 2 was completed without service interruptions, and Gidgee’s operations saw no negative impact.
Upon completion of the project, Gidgee’s system was now better equipped to protect patient data and other sensitive information, effectively meeting and even exceeding the Maturity Level 2 criteria. Gidgee Healing, confident in their cybersecurity, continues their mission of supporting the health of Indigenous Australians and their families.
We are so grateful for their vigilance and expertise.
"We can rest easy knowing that our patients’ data and sensitive information are as safe as can be. Gidgee Healing is now better equipped to fulfill our mission of supporting the health of Indigenous Australians and their families."