A new community extension program from HITRUST will give healthcare organizations a new way to share security best practices and lessons learned with local peers.
The outreach initiative is meant to help hospitals and other healthcare compare notes on cybersecurity challenges and risk management strategies, and helping them leverage the HITRUST Common Security Framework, threat sharing and response programs and more.
HITRUST will launch the program via town hall events in 50 cities, starting with Boston (hosted by Tufts Medical Center, facilitated by PwC); Houston (hosted by Texas Children's Hospital, facilitated by Deloitte); Denver (hosted by Centura Health, facilitated by Coalfire); Dallas (hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, facilitated by Deloitte); Cleveland (hosted by Cleveland Clinic, facilitated by Beyond); Seattle (hosted by Microsoft, facilitated by Coalfire). More events will be rolled out over the next year, officials say.
Learn more: Healthcare Security Forum, Boston Sept. 11-13, 2017. Register here.
"The importance of improving the overall cyber resilience of organizations cannot be overstated,” said Taylor Lehmann, chief information security officer at Tufts Medical Center. “Although it's a difficult goal, HITRUST provides a number of programs that make the goal achievable and sharing best practices, lessons learned and remediation strategies makes the community stronger."
HITRUST says the program is meant to spur greater collaboration among healthcare organizations and encourage a more unified front and greater information sharing as cyber threats proliferate.
The initiative aims to help providers structure and implement information risk management programs; leverage HITRUST CSF to implement the NIST Cybersecurity Framework; establish third-party assurance programs and vendor risk management programs and more.
Cyber information sharing is essential nowadays, regardless of an organization's size or security preparedness, said Michael Parisi, vice president, assurance strategy and community development at HITRUST.
"This program provides significant value by allowing organizations to engage with, and learn from, others in the community about how they approach the challenges related to managing risk, controlling compliance costs while effectively implementing a strong security posture and defending against cyber threats," he said.
Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
