Over on LinkedIn, we asked our audience what the biggest priority should be for health and care cyber security – board level buy-in, workforce education, funding and resources, or mandating supplier compliance?
The top spot was an even split between funding and resources and mandating supplier compliance, with each option attracting 34 percent of the vote. Votes for funding and resources came from job titles including engagement operations manager, global product marketing leader, digital support specialist and senior programme manager; whilst voters who opted for mandating supplier compliance included a deputy chief nurse, transformation leader, project manager and GP.
Coming in second was workforce education with 26 percent of votes. Votes for this option came in from roles including business intelligence developer, nurse teacher, project manager, and founder.
In last place was board level buy-in, which six percent of voters selected as a priority for health and care cyber security, including an executive director for system delivery and a change leader.
Which option would have voted for? Follow HTN on LinkedIn here for the chance to share your views in future polls, and to keep up with news, insights and interviews in the health tech space.
Spotlight on cyber security across the NHS
Let’s take a look at some of the recent stories around cyber security in the NHS to have caught our eye over the last few months.
Back in July, the King’s Speech 2024 highlighted plans for a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, set to expand regulatory remits to provide protection to a higher number of digital services; and a Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, aiming to ensure the power of data is utilised to support growth, the government, and people’s lives.
August saw news of a new partnership between NHS England and the North East Business Resilience Centre on a pilot project designed to tackle cyber threats by delivering ‘digital health checks’ for small and medium businesses in the social care sector in the North East and Yorkshire, including free cyber services and training.
In September, NHS England and the National Data Guardian released a joint statement describing changes to the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to be phased out and replaced by the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF); it also saw the publication of the Scottish Government’s strategic plan for 2024-2027 for the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre, outlining the vision for a “digitally resilient nation” and setting out an overview of operating principles, functional structure and service development plans.
A HTN Now panel discussion last week also discussed the most significant cyber security threats currently facing health and social care organisations, how organisations can prioritise their resources to address emerging threats, the outlook for the next 5-10 years, and more. Experts also highlighted ways of getting buy-in at C-suite level, ensuring training is in place to secure the human element of frontline cyber security, and ensuring supplier compliance.
