Cyberattacks on healthcare entities are not a matter of if but when, and industry collaboration is one of the keys to lessening the impact of such attacks, writes Forbes contributor Dan Munro.
Chief security officers, he notes, are the defenders, and face much bigger hurdles than the attackers looking to steal health data.
"The basic equation is heavily stacked against the defenders because the attackers need only to exploit a single vulnerability once. Defenders have to protect all attack surfaces--all the time," Munro writes.
That's where a national network of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) comes in--the network fosters a collaborative culture for professionals to fight against attacks, he writes.
The healthcare group, NH-ISAC, has a board full of healthcare giants, including Aetna, McKesson Corporation, Partners Healthcare, Pfizer, Stanford Health Care and more.
This network of healthcare organizations won't end cyberattacks, but will "help to increase the defensive posture for those who participate in them," Munro writes. "Nowhere is this more needed than in healthcare."
The NH-ISAC is partnering with government groups such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure there is communication over security of medical and mobile devices.
In addition to ISACs for info sharing, President Barack Obama issued an executive order to use information sharing and analysis organizations (ISAOs) to boost cybersecurity.
The White House's effort will raise awareness and help create better coordination between private entities and government, according to Deborah Kobza, executive director of NH-ISAC. She also said she sees ISAOs as feeding information into the ISACs to better identify threats and foster more coordinated response.
To learn more:
- read the Forbes article