Healthcare Network Security Case Study: Cisco Firepower
See how a Northeast healthcare network unified security & HIPAA compliance across 10+ locations using Cisco Firepower deployed by Derive Technologies.
Overview
A leading healthcare network in the Northeast — with more than 10,000 employees and nearly 3,000 attending physicians — faced a security challenge of its own making. Years of acquisitions had produced fragmented IT systems across more than 10 geographically dispersed hospitals and physician practices. Leadership needed a unified security posture, consistent HIPAA compliance enforcement, and a single team to manage it all.
They turned to Derive Technologies.
Entity Overview
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Client
Major Northeast healthcare provider network (name withheld at client's request)
Industry
Healthcare
Core Challenge
Fragmented security infrastructure across 10+ acquired hospital and physician practice locations, with no centralized visibility or compliance enforcement
Primary Solution
Cisco Firepower Next-Generation Firewall suite with centralized management Key Technologies: Cisco Firepower 4110 and 4120 NGFWs, Cisco Firepower User Agent, Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Endpoints, Cisco Firepower Management Center 2500
Service Provider
Derive Technologies (MBE-Certified, Cisco Premier Certified Partner)
How did this healthcare network address fragmented security across 10+ locations?
After acquiring multiple hospitals and physician practices across the Northeast, the network's IT leadership recognized three problems they could no longer defer: security policies enforced inconsistently across sites, limited visibility into endpoint activity across clinical and administrative devices, and no centralized compliance reporting for board-level accountability.
"They knew something needed to be done but didn't know which vendor or solutions to choose or how to manage the process," said Bill Rochford, Director of Business Development at Derive Technologies. "This was the first joint IT initiative involving all network facilities and campuses, and the board of directors was demanding weekly progress reports. It was a big deal."
The network needed a partner who could design a solution at enterprise scale, manage a multi-site deployment, and deliver results fast enough to satisfy a board already watching closely.
What was Derive's methodology for the Cisco Firepower deployment?
Derive began with a discovery process across all 10+ sites to map existing infrastructure, identify security gaps, and define a unified architecture. The deployment centered on four workstreams: network segmentation, user identity-based policy enforcement, endpoint visibility, and centralized management.
1. Network Segmentation with Cisco Firepower NGFWs
Derive deployed Cisco Firepower 4110 and 4120 Next-Generation Firewall Appliances to segment the network — separating clinical systems, administrative devices, IoT medical equipment, and guest traffic. Segmentation limits lateral movement in the event of a breach, a critical requirement in HIPAA-regulated healthcare environments.
2. User Identity and Policy Context
Using Cisco Firepower User Agent, Derive established clearly defined user groups so firewalls could apply security policies contextually — by role, location, and access level — rather than treating all traffic equally.
3. Endpoint Visibility with Cisco AMP
"Cisco AMP for Endpoints fingerprints and tracks every file that is downloaded and shared," said Yaroslav Samoylenko, Systems Engineer at Derive Technologies. "It provides continuous visibility into the security posture of all endpoints — desktops, laptops, mobile devices, medical devices and more."
4. Centralized Management via Firepower Management Center 2500
All sites consolidated into a single management console — Cisco Firepower Management Center 2500 — giving the security team unified visibility into every intra-campus, inter-campus, and internet-facing application flow.
What were the results of the Cisco Firepower deployment?
The healthcare network now operates with consistent security policy enforcement and network segmentation across all devices and campuses, managed through a single pane of glass.
Key outcomes:
- Security teams have full visibility into data flows, user activity, applications, and communication across all sites
- Suspicious activity and threats are detected and investigated before patients or staff are affected
- Data from all users and campuses is organized, reliable, accurate, and accessible to authorized users only
- Systems and reporting mechanisms are in place to pass future compliance audits quickly
Positioned to Secure Future IoT Healthcare Assets
The Cisco infrastructure Derive deployed can scale beyond traditional IT assets. Heart monitors, headless devices, sensors, wearables, and any device transmitting clinical data can be brought under the same security and monitoring umbrella — without adding a separate management layer.
"Derive brought meaningful structure to the healthcare network's technology selection and strategic implementation processes. By deploying products from the Cisco security suite in a unified solution, we've optimized security at the network core, edge and endpoints."
— Darius "Staffy" Stafford, Chief Technology Officer, Derive Technologies
Internal Links:
- Learn more about Derive's healthcare IT solutions: derivetech.com/healthcare
- Explore Derive's full IT solutions portfolio: derivetech.com/solution/solutions
About Derive Technologies
Founded in 2000, Derive Technologies is a New York-based provider of IT solutions and managed services for healthcare, financial services, government and public sector, education, and professional services organizations. Derive is certified as a Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) and holds ISO 9001:2015 certification for IT staging, configuration, and warehousing at its Manhattan facility. For healthcare organizations across the Northeast, Derive combines clinical IT expertise with vendor-agnostic design to build infrastructure that is secure, compliant, and built to scale.
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From streamlined IT operations to enhanced security, these success stories reflect the trust businesses place in Derive Technologies — and the results we deliver every day.
"When my company suffered a ransomware attack on Dec. 23, 2023, I immediately reached out to Derive for assistance. With their round-the-clock remote and on-site assistance throughout the holidays, my company was back to normal IT operations only five days later. I continue to rely upon their expert and responsive IT services to this day."
"IT Initiatives has had a highly positive experience collaborating with Derive Technologies on the Fellowship LIFE project. Your team has successfully implemented our envisioned next-generation network infrastructure, utilized to provide exceptional care and services for our clients’ residents while meeting operational needs and objectives."
“Derive worked with our IT staff, suppliers, and technology partners to optimize a unified solution in far less time and with less expense than we imagined. As trusted partners, they
went above and beyond to secure our systems and ensure our goals were met or exceeded.”
“Our IT infrastructure was on the verge of obsolescence… until Derive Technologies helped us remediate that situation. Collaborating on
an IT roadmap highlighted their insight and ability to modernize our IT environment. Now our systems are faster and ready for future enhancements — and most important, patient data is safer than ever.”
“The HPE SimpliVity solution was precisely what we needed at this point in our company’s evolution. Having the ability to tap into the advantages of cloud computing while adding even greater data security and DR/BU capabilities was something we did not think was possible. But with HPE SimpliVity and the Derive Technologies’ team, it quickly became our new reality.”
“Derive has stepped up to the plate. They understand what healthcare is about. It’s not selling me a server; it’s selling me a service that helps me take care of my patients at the end of the day.”
“The solution far exceeded our expectations in terms of both short-term and long-term business value. Our infrastructure is now the foundation for us to deliver on our commitment to our customers: Get it right the first time, every time.”
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