Visibility of cybersecurity threat detection and response is one way to thwart evolving attacks on the healthcare industry. With that in mind, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT today announced two funding opportunities for an Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) that wants to help.
ONC, along with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), is searching for an existing ISAO to help the sector by providing information on the types of threats impacting the industry, expanding education to healthcare entities on cybersecurity awareness, helping stakeholders use that education and information in practice and sharing information throughout the industry.
“In short, the ISAO will create a more robust cyber information sharing environment, especially for smaller entities that may not have the resources to access such information on their own, by leveraging existing relationships,” National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo wrote in a blog post.
The funding opportunities for the first year will total $250,000 and have the option of being renewed for up to five years, according to ONC.
The agency hopes this will expand security information sharing not just within the healthcare industry, but between government partners like the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
In early 2015, President Barack Obama created an executive order to use ISAOs to boost cybersecurity, raise awareness and help create better coordination between private entities and government.
To learn more:
- here's the announcement
- read DeSalvo's blog post