Cybersecurity breaches are common, and several occur around the world every day. The art of protecting networks, devices, and data from unlawful access or criminal use, organizations deploy Cybersecurity measures to guarantee confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. In the case of healthcare organizations, a sturdy cybersecurity posture gives patients the confidence that the medical institution effectively protects their data ensuring that patients return for their healthcare needs.
Established in May 2020 and headquartered in St Gratien – France, 123 CS has designed its entire information and security system, with the aim of offering the greatest efficiency and security for healthcare establishments. Florent Duchaussoy, Data Center Manager states, “123 CS is exclusively at the service of health institutions, both public and private. We have 2 main sectors: Cybersecurity and Health Data Hosting (HDS). We are currently present on 2 data centers, but we are already working on opening infrastructures on 2 additional sites.”
The Evolution of 123 CS
From ransomware and DDOS attacks to certifications and regulations, IT security is an important issue for healthcare institutions today, regardless of their size and location. The creation of 123 CS comes from an innovative idea, to offer a “complete” service with high-added value to their healthcare customers, both public and private.
123 CS is an independent French society exclusively dedicated to digitizing the healthcare sector. It assists players in this sector in the creation, financing, deployment, management, optimization, securing, and availability of their technical facilities from an economic, technical, and regulatory point of view. The organization has its footprints in France, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy, and Spain and has nearly 8,000 customers ranging from doctors and nursing homes to clinics, hospitals, and more.Soon as it was established, 123 CS quickly gained recognition due to its agility, responsiveness, and above all an excellent knowledge of the medical field. “This is why our customers are public or private health institutions, but also software publishers or hardware manufacturers in the medical field,” shares Florent.
Guaranteeing Excellence
123 CS consultants provide the necessary advice for optimizing the information system by systematically reviewing security levels. Whatever the size or the nature of an establishment, the 123 CS team meets its needs by navigating through the constraints of planning, budgets, identifying risks, and understanding long-term goals.
Following the audit and analysis of the client’s needs, the team proposes an appropriate solution to optimize the use of existing technologies as well as deploy new technologies with a methodology that can be adapted to the objectives of each individual project. The initial audit allows 123 CS to effectively anticipate a potential attack by identifying effective vulnerabilities and levels of exposure to SSI risks. It also improves the effectiveness of the protection solutions in place which enhances the overall level of the digital security structure.
The company also offers appropriate awareness and training workshops to train organizations on how to limit and avoid threats. These are based on demonstrations of concrete attacks specific to customer organizations. “Our way of helping our customers or providing them with solutions is simple: be close to them, understand them, know the ecosystem that surrounds them, and help them evolve,” Florent says.
The growth of our company and the volumes that we host show the recognition of our customers and future customers for our technological and commercial choices.
The Cyber Experts
123 CS is ISO 27 001 certified, and HDS (Health Data WebHoster) certified in all 6 areas of Certification. The organization has also earned the label – ‘Cyber Expert,’ by a French government agency. Additionally, 123 CS is a member of the ACN (Alliance for Digital Trust) where it has earned international labels such as ‘France Cybersecurity’ and ‘Cybersecurity Made in Europe.’ At present 123 CS is in the process of applying for the ISO 14 001 Certification which is for environmental sustainability and is an important issue for the organization.
The multiple certifications and accreditations further drive the organization to guarantee a service with a very high level of security and personalized support for every project. “We follow all regulatory changes as a part of our certifications, including 27 001 and HDS. But to go further and be proactive, we took the opposite path: rather than discovering a new law or regulation, we decided to participate in the drafting of good practices: that’s why we joined the ACN (Alliance for Digital Trust), it allows us to report the real points that we encounter on a daily basis with the security of our customers, hospitals and to align it with future laws or regulations,” shares Florent.
The organization is able to guarantee strong commitments thanks to various automation placed on the hardware, software, network and telecom components. At the core of the company are some of the best software development and customer service agents. “It is part of our daily lives, our processes, our monitoring, our alerts. We are on alert 24X7. It is part of the DNA of our society and the agents that compose it. Our processes are based on technical elements, but also on strong organization,” says.
In the event of a breakdown or identified potential risk, this next-gen automation alerts the teams who instantly carry out interventions in accordance with customers. All the interventions carried out are recorded and can be consulted by customers, and are measured by statistics on the availability and the actual use of resources and networks.
Because security, cannot be seen as a point of view but rather as a recurrence of everyday life, 123 CS brings the benefits of robustness and availability, and that’s exactly what our customers expect from us.
Into the Future
The security of Health Establishments has been undermined in recent years because hackers have realized that even in crisis situations, Health Establishments must produce care. To counter this, the medical field has become much more computerized over the past 20 years.
In the constantly disruptive digital landscape, cybersecurity has shifted from “defending fortresses” to accepting ongoing cyber risk, focusing on enhancing resilience and capacity for recovery. While new forms of digital attacks are invented every day, the safety of health establishments can only evolve positively through the intervention or use of external professionals, such as 123 CS.
In this unpredictable landscape, 123 CS remains poised to deal with whatever threats cyber criminals may pose today or in the future. “We have some projects that are technically completed and that will be marketed in September 2023. This is likely to mark a big change in the world of Medical Cybersecurity, for institutions as well as for manufacturers of Medical Modalities,” concludes Florent Duchaussoy
