critical access hospital IT

Your Security Awareness Program Assumes a Human Gets It Right. Here Are Four Controls That Don't.

A nurse stares at a monitor in a dimly lit room

In May 2024, one of the largest health systems in the United States went to paper. Ascension, a nonprofit network of more than 140 hospitals, detected a ransomware attack that knocked out its electronic health records, its MyChart patient portal, and the systems clinicians used to order tests, procedures, and medications. Staff charted by hand. Non-emergent procedures were paused. Ambulances were diverted to other facilities...

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Microsoft Is Retiring RC4 Encryption in Kerberos: What Rural Hospital IT Teams Need to Know

If your organization runs on-premises Active Directory (and most rural health care organizations still do), there is a change coming in April 2026 that could break authentication across your environment if you have not prepared for it. Microsoft is retiring RC4 as the default fallback encryption for Kerberos ticket issuance on domain controllers. For environments that have been quietly relying on this decades-old fallback without realizing it, the April cumulative update will disable it by default.

When Leadership Pushes Back on Security: Why Your IT Team Needs You to Champion Change

Adversary in the Middle Attack Banner image

The attackers are getting smarter. Your response matters more than you think.

Here is a question that keeps health care administrators up at night: What happens when the security measures that protected you yesterday stop working today?

This is not a question about technology. It is a question about leadership.

Rural health care organizations face a difficult reality. You have limited IT staff. You have tight budgets. You have employees who get frustrated with security procedures. And you have attackers who know all of this and use it against you.

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Free IPAM for Rural Health Care: Why visuaFUSION Revived IPplan

Reviewed by visuaFUSION Systems Solutions health care IT professionals with experience supporting Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Health Clinics.

Read more about Free IPAM for Rural Health Care: Why visuaFUSION Revived IPplan
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Windows 10 End of Life: What Rural Health Care Organizations Need to Know

The Clock Has Run Out

As of October 14, 2025, Microsoft Windows 10 has officially reached its End of Life (EOL). If you're reading this while still running Windows 10, you're already at risk of noncompliance with HIPAA security requirements, and both Microsoft and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) know it.