A new national service has been launched to provide expert advice and guidance on cyber security threats and best practice to the NHS and other health and care organisations. CareCERT (Care Computing Emergency Response Team) will be run by experts at the Health and Social Care Information Centre and will aim to enhance cyber resilience across the health and social care system.
The project has been initially funded by the Cabinet Office National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) and the service is planned for a full go live in January 2016, with functionality being launched in a phased approach from autumn 2015.
CareCERT will:
· Provide incident response expertise for the management of cyber security incidents and threats across health and care system
· Broadcast potential cyber threats and necessary actions to take across the sector, to ensure cyber threats are safely dealt with
· Become a central source of security intelligence for health and care by working with cross government monitoring partners such as GovCertUK and CERT-UK.
· Support the analysis of emerging and future threats through unique analysis tools and reporting
· Become a trusted source of security best practice and guidance
Rob Shaw, HSCIC Director of Operations and Assurance Services, says: "HSCIC has a wealth of world class technical expertise in the issues surrounding cyber security in health and care, and we are delighted to be able to work with health and care organisations to support them in benefiting from this knowledge.
"CareCERT will be a valuable resource for the health and social care sector, providing best practice guidance to support organisations to keep their information safe and secure. The service will monitor for system wide threats and will then ensure that appropriate actions are developed, supporting continued security across the sector."
"CareCERT is another tool that health and social care organisations can use to help them to meet the high standards of information security that is rightly expected by patients, clinicians and the general public."
