What should the hospital set as the failure mode configuration for its security device that processes sensitive patient information?

In a healthcare setting, such as a hospital that handles sensitive patient information, setting the failure mode configuration to fail-closed is crucial for maintaining security and protecting patient data. A fail-closed configuration ensures that if the security device experiences a failure, it automatically restricts access to the system rather than allowing any data to be exposed or compromised.

This approach is key in environments dealing with high-stakes information, where unauthorized access could lead to severe consequences, such as breaches of patient confidentiality and violations of regulatory standards like HIPAA. By defaulting to a closed state, the system mitigates risks associated with downtime or technical failures, ensuring that patient information remains secure until the issue is resolved.

Choosing fail-open, for instance, would mean that a failure would leave the system accessible, potentially exposing sensitive data, while fail-safe might not be the appropriate term in this context as it typically refers to maintaining operational integrity in physical systems rather than data access control. Unlike fail-silent, which would obscure evidence and logs during an outage, fail-closed specifically addresses the critical need to prioritize security during failure scenarios.