ChristianaCare brings care closer to patients with a platform approach to network security

SUMMARY

ChristianaCare, the largest healthcare system in Delaware, is focused on improving access, equity, and affordability of quality care. They believe that digital technologies can enhance health outcomes by bringing care closer to patients. Recognizing that the healthcare industry is a prime target for cyberattacks, ChristianaCare is dedicated to enhancing the security of their healthcare network and patient data. To achieve this, they have chosen a platform approach for network security, consolidating multiple point products to simplify management and provide stronger security throughout the organization.

RESULTS

From 4 → 1

Consolidated network security stack from four products to one.

CHALLENGES

Too much complexity hampers security efficacy.

Collaboration between network and security teams impacted by legacy security tools.
Siloed network security tools added complexity for a lean security team.
Enable healthcare staff to work remotely with a secure solution.
Minimize risk to the organization in the face of rising volumes and sophistication of cyberattacks.

“One of the proudest moments of my career was how we were able to enable virtual care during the pandemic without creating a single exception to our security posture.”

Anahi Santiago

Chief Information Security Officer,
ChristianaCare

SOLUTION

ChristianaCare’s strategy is to make security an enabler of innovation to support the organization’s digital transformation goals. Its partnership with Palo Alto Networks spans over nine years and has helped advance that mission by consolidating legacy point products into one platform.

By looking ahead and providing secure access from anywhere, Anahi Santiago, ChristianaCare’s CISO, enabled the company to be more agile and better adapt to change. GlobalProtect served ChristianaCare well during the 2020 pandemic; the company transitioned seamlessly to support a greater degree of remote work and virtual care without creating any exceptions to its security posture.

Today, the company uses Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls for real-time protection of network traffic and to stay ahead of evolving, sophisticated cyberthreats. ChristianaCare added Cloud-Delivered Security Services to strengthen its firewall protections, from DNS Security to URL Filtering, Threat Prevention and more. It uses GlobalProtect for intrusion prevention and detection and to provide secure remote access for medical staff.

The new approach has also allowed ChristianaCare to realize its vision to bring care closer to patients, enabling medical staff to securely access healthcare systems outside the hospitals and in patient homes. Santiago notes, “We’ve now created an ecosystem where our caregivers can securely deliver care from anywhere.”

Going forward, ChristianaCare is exploring how to improve secure connectivity to its medical locations with Prisma SD-WAN.