IRT wins data for good award as cyber threats intensify

John Vohradsky IRT executive general manager infrastructure and technology said that no sector was safe when it came to preventing cyber attacks.

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"The scary part for aged care and health, is that we could be a target of that," he said.

Cyber attacks across the economy are increasing and with more and more personal data being stored and held by organisations, Australians are vulnerable.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, at least one reported cyber attack occurred every eight minutes in 2021, an increase from every 10 minutes in the previous year.

The ACSC said these attacks are more sophisticated and complex, with vendors on the dark web offering attacks on demand to criminals and state actors.

To counter this, Mr Vohradsky said his organisation, and others, are constantly running simulated cyber attacks, improving firewalls and other defence mechanisms.

This ensures the data that is held by organisations can be used for positive ends, which in the case of IRT, has won the organisation a national award. IRT has won the Data For Good award from cloud data provider Snowflake.

Mr Vohradsky said this recognised the work the organisation had done in using data to improve services for residents and their families.

"We're trying to take paper out of the business, we're trying to have electronic records," he said.

"And what does that mean? That means things happen faster, and more consistently. You don't have to ring up all the time and get a piece of paper sent to you and sign that somebody's to come and pick it up."

In practice, this varies from call buttons in residential facilities being augmented with a patient's records, so that nurses and care staff know what is causing an individual distress, before they enter the room to an app that allows home care recipients to order care services on demand, tailored to their needs.

To deliver this to a customer base that are not digital natives, Mr Vohradsky said the business aimed to put technology in the background - rather than foregrounding every latest widget.

"It's hiding the tech and having the technology work for you," he said.

With the aged care sector set to transform as the baby boomer generation ages, seeking more care in the home and higher needs care in residential facilities, Mr Vohradky said technology would be an inescapable part of the solution to the emerging conundrum.

"At the end of the day, the model is very simple. The government provides funding based on the clinical care you provide. If you can't log that clinical care down properly, you're not going to get the funding."

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