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techUK welcomes Cabinet Office investment to secure the UK’s future healthcare data

The collection of healthcare data represents an extremely attractive proposition for the would-be cyber-criminal. Indeed, last year the NHS topped the Information Commissioner Office's list of serious data breaches. If patients are to retain trust in the take-up of new digital innovation in our healthcare system, attention to its security will be vital.

In light of this challenge, the UK's Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has launched CareCERT (Care Computer Emergency Response Team), which will build on its expertise in matters of cyber security in the health and social care environment. It will provide cyber security intelligence and advice to the health and social care system, by informing organisations about cyber security vulnerabilities, mitigating risks, and reacting to cyber security threats and attacks.

The new team consists of three key services: a national cyber security incident management function; the provision of national level threat advisories for immediate broadcast to healthcare organisations; and the publication of good practice guidance on cyber security. The services, which are due to go live in January 2016, are funded by the Cabinet Office National Cyber Security Programme and will work with cross government monitoring partners such as CERT UK and GovCertUK.

techUK is wholly supportive of such a service and will continue to work with both HSCIC and CERT-UK to ensure the take-up of digitisation and that it is done in a secure fashion. Indeed, we have recently partnered with HSCIC recently on Information Governance and Mobile Application Endorsement. Similarly, cyber security practitioners from the techUK membership are currently engaged in techUK's Trusted Agents Forum, with CERT-UK and the CiSP (Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership), on the latest security vulnerabilities and best practise in remedying them.