The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced two cooperative agreement funding opportunities for an Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for the Healthcare and Public Health sector.
“Establishing robust threat information sharing infrastructure and capability within the Healthcare and Public Health Sector is crucial to the privacy and security of health information, which is foundational to the digital health system,” said Karen DeSalvo, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., National Coordinator For Health IT. “This coordinated resource will focus on sharing the most up-to-date threat information across the health and public health sectors and will better equip health systems to identify potential threats and further protect electronic health information.”
The combined funding from both opportunities for an ISAO in the first year will be worth $250,000 and could be renewed for up to five years.
HHS hopes these opportunities will facilitate the sharing of cybersecurity threats identified in the Healthcare and Public Health sector with relevant stakeholders in the industry as well as federal partners, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
“Keeping health IT up and running is critical to health system preparedness. Not only do we need to worry about natural disasters, but also increasingly we must combat—and prevent—cyber threats,” said Dr. Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response. “Using an ISAO to exchange cyber threat information with these healthcare organizations, bi-directionally between HHS and the Healthcare and Public Health sector, we hope to build the capacity to better prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks.”
The funding opportunities released today call for an existing ISAO or Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) to:
- Provide information on cyber threats affecting the public health sector
- Expand healthcare cybersecurity outreach and education activities
- Equip stakeholders to take action in response to cyber threat information
- Facilitate information sharing at all organization levels in this sector
Read more:
Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) EP-HIT-16-001
Cyber Threat Information Sharing In The Health Care And Public Health NAP-AX-16-006
