Reliable protection

Not only corporations and medium-sized companies, but also so-called SOHOs (Small Office/Home Office), i.e. companies with up to 20 employees, are increasingly faced with the challenge of protecting their digital devices against cyber threats such as phishing, malware and data theft. Comprehensive security solutions are essential, especially when dealing with sensitive data, such as in the healthcare sector. A best practice example is Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH, which protects its mobile devices with the Vodafone solution ‘Lookout for Small Business’.

Source: Sozialstation Hildebrand 

The Challenge

Increasing threats, even for small companies

Everyday nursing care is characterised by a high level of mandatory documentation, which takes up a lot of the staff's time, which is then lacking for dealing with the people in need of care. In addition, there are organisational challenges, such as reacting quickly to staff absences due to illness and route planning that is tailored to the current staffing situation. Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH has responded to this by adopting digital solutions at an early stage. Each employee is given their own company smartphone, which is used exclusively for communication, coordination and documentation relating to care assignments.

In order to authorise nursing staff to access confidential health data and to identify their clients, Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH is taking part in a pilot project run by the statutory health insurance funds, in which these authorisation processes are carried out using an ID card. An NFC chip on the documentation folders assigned to each care recipient is also used to record deployment and working times. However, these digitalised processes also give rise to the need to protect the company smartphones against cyber threats. As a long-standing Vodafone customer, Sozialstation Hildebrand has opted for customised solutions from the Düsseldorf-based digitalisation company.

The Company

Comprehensive range of care services since three decades

Sozialstation Herbert Hildebrand GmbH has been providing care services in the towns of Wittmund, Jever-Schortens and Esens in Lower Saxony since 1992. Its range of services includes ambulatory nursing care, respite care, individual care counselling, medical treatment, palliative care, holiday care, domestic care, meal service and more. Around 150 employees work in these different areas – some at the Wittmund head office, but many are primarily responsible for the care services on site. The company consistently relies on digitalisation to coordinate the nursing staff and to deal with doctors, health insurance companies and other tasks.

The Solution

Mobile security for small businesses

In order to fulfil the security requirements of Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH, Vodafone protects the employees' smartphones with Lookout for Small Business. This solution is based on a security app that is installed on the end devices. It protects the smartphones and the company data stored and processed on them against viruses, data theft and phishing. Once installed, the Lookout app actively and automatically fends off attacks and threats. A user-friendly admin console is available to the company headquarters to manage the end devices involved, providing an overview of the status of the managed smartphones at all times.

Lookout for Small Business offers comprehensive data and virus protection and can be easily booked as an add-on option to the Red Business Prime mobile phone tariffs designed for business customers. ‘The smartphones used by our employees are an important foundation of our business,’ explains Herbert Hildebrand, founder and Managing Director of the social centre named after him. ‘Data security and the reliability of communication are also decisive factors - a hacker attack could severely disrupt or even switch off our operational capability.’ With the help of the security tools used by the company and the Lookout console, Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH discovered that it is the target of around 40 attempted cyberattacks per month. ‘Thanks to the security solution provided by Vodafone Business, employers can definitely sleep more soundly,’ says the managing director.

In the future, the importance of company-owned smartphones will continue to grow, for example for managing the housekeeping services offered by the social centre. Here too, Lookout for Small Business will then provide the urgently needed mobile cyber security.

The Advantages

Reliable protection against cyber threats

Lookout protects the devices used in companies such as Sozialstation Hildebrand GmbH and is based on three components: the Lookout app, special telemetry (Lookout Security Graph) and an admin console. This means that all employees' devices are secure even before they access the company's resources. This works for devices with iOS, Android or Chrome OS operating systems.

Herbert Hildebrand is the founder and Managing Director of the care service named after him, which now has around 150 employees. We spoke with him about the digitalisation of the healthcare industry and cyber security in his company.

What role does digitalisation play in care and in your company?

Herbert Hildebrand: That depends entirely on the company in question. Many care services have not yet addressed this topic at all. Others, including us, recognised early on that digitalisation can provide a decisive advantage in overcoming the challenges facing our industry. Accordingly, we have consistently implemented digital solutions.

How do you assess the underlying conditions for that?

Herbert Hildebrand: As digitalisation in the healthcare sector increases – I'll just mention the mandatory implementation of telematics infrastructure for doctors and clinics as an example – there is no alternative for service providers in this area other than to get familiar with these solutions and use them productively in their own business.

Do you think your company is particularly threatened by cyber attacks?

Herbert Hildebrand: I don't think so, but we do handle sensitive data when it comes to health information, which is essential for us. This may well be of value to cyber criminals. Even without being directly at the centre of such activities, we already register around 40 cyberattacks per month on our company network. In addition, there are other threats such as phishing, ransomware and the like.

How do you and your employees deal with these issues?

Herbert Hildebrand: Like everywhere else in life, we have people among our nursing staff who are quite tech-savvy and others who have little interest in these topics. And in addition to cyber threats, there are also requirements such as those imposed on us by the GDPR. Our solution is to consistently keep company communication away from our employees' private smartphones. Shift planning, internal communication and documentation take place exclusively on the devices we provide for this purpose.

How do you rate the cooperation with Vodafone?

Herbert Hildebrand: I am very pleased that Vodafone Business offers us a perfectly suitable security solution for the mobile devices in our company. When our contact person presented this solution to us, the decision in favour was quickly clear.

There are reports of cyber security incidents almost every week, mostly at large companies or public sector organisations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the other hand, are rarely mentioned. However, this does not mean that they are less at risk – on the contrary. SMEs are more vulnerable because they lack specialised IT teams and resources for information security.

In this article, we give you tips on how to strengthen your company's cyber resilience. With easy-to-understand recommendations, you can increase your level of security and improve your protection against cyber attacks.

Conclusion: The security of your IT infrastructure is crucial to protect your company from cyber threats. Unsecured networks, outdated software and inadequate data protection can leave your company vulnerable to attacks. Regular checks and updates are necessary to maintain a strong defence. By recognising vulnerabilities, you can take targeted measures to secure your systems.

Act now: Carry out a comprehensive IT security check for your company to protect yourself against potential risks.