Healthcare breaches are a major concern in the U.S. as well. On June 1, the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force, a US consortium, published its 88 page report on improving cyber security in the US healthcare industry.
According to Jeff Hill, Director of Product Management at Prevalent, (Warren, NJ): "Given the life and death nature of healthcare, and the reality that medical records and other information are some of the more tantalizing prizes for cyber-criminals , the healthcare sector is one of the more challenging – yet most critical - verticals to embrace cyber security awareness, technologies and best practices. The Health Care Industry CyberSecurity Task Force should be applauded for bringing awareness, recommendations, and most importantly, a federal focus to this critical national effort.
In particular, Imperatives 5 and 6 acknowledge the expansive and interrelated vendor ecosystem that characterizes the modern healthcare industry, and underscore the importance of cooperation and information sharing among industry members, private and public organizations alike. Current industry initiatives like the National Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (NH-ISAC) CYBERFIT third party vendor evidence sharing network provide best practice examples to meet these imperatives. The Task Force has hit on the only effective and efficient means to mitigate cyber security risk while preserving the myriad benefits of the extensive healthcare “data supply chain” that prompts innovation, cost savings, and ultimately, saves lives."
