HHS seeks threat information sharing system for health sector
- By Amanda Ziadeh
- Jul 29, 2016
The Department of Health and Human Services is looking to strengthen the privacy and security of health care information by sharing cyber threat data with partner agencies and stakeholders.
HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response released funding opportunities for an information sharing and analysis organization for the health care and public health sector (HPH).
Because many parts of the health care system do not have access to the information needed to fight off cyberattacks, the ISAO is looking for a bi-directional system to share up-to-date information among organizations of all sizes to help them identify and respond to threats.
The system would securely combine information from private sector health care organizations with that received from the government to “develop comprehensive analytical products and create a more complete picture of cyber threats,” according to the grant announcement.
The funding is intended to expand an existing sector-specific ISAO or an information sharing and analysis center and could be used for IT and communications infrastructure and applications.
Eventually, HHS hopes this funding will open up sharing of cybersecurity threat information in the HPH sector among stakeholders in the industry and federal partners.
About the Author
Amanda Ziadeh is a Reporter/Producer for GCN.
Prior to joining 1105 Media, Ziadeh was a contributing journalist for USA Today Travel's Experience Food and Wine site. She's also held a communications assistant position with the University of Maryland Office of the Comptroller, and has reported for the American Journalism Review, Capitol File Magazine and DC Magazine.
Ziadeh is a graduate of the University of Maryland where her emphasis was multimedia journalism and French studies.
Click here for previous articles by Ms. Ziadeh or connect with her on Twitter: @aziadeh610.