GNYHA has developed this comprehensive Cyber Disruption Toolkit to help member hospitals develop and improve their preparedness and response capabilities related to cyber disruptions. The toolkit stems from years of internal effort by the GNYHA Cyber Committee and Emergency Preparedness Team and is informed by the knowledge and experience of our members (GNYHA has convened an interdisciplinary team to address your cybersecurity needs since 2016).
The Cyber Disruption Toolkit includes preparedness, response, and recovery considerations and actions for emergency management, clinical teams, and non-clinical teams such as finance and security. While not intended to replace your organization’s existing plans, the toolkit can supplement in-place emergency operations plans and can be modified to your organization’s size, resources, complexity, and capabilities.
Cyber Disruptions in Healthcare and Toolkit Overview
Disruptions to technology can bring hospital operations to a grinding halt and jeopardize patient safety. The Change Healthcare cyberattack demonstrated the health care delivery system’s enormous but vulnerable reliance on technology. As the complexity and frequency of cyber threats increase, facilities must integrate cyber disruption preparedness practices into the response actions of key departments, including IT, clinical teams, emergency management, administration, public affairs, legal, risk management, finance, and security.
How To Use the Toolkit
The Cyber Disruption Toolkit includes several ways to advance cyber disruption planning, including:
- Developing an interdisciplinary approach to cyber preparedness and response
- Identifying gaps and strategies to mitigate gaps in cyber disruption readiness
- Educating staff at all levels of the organization through trainings and exercises
- Developing plans with clinical and non-clinical teams to prepare for extended downtime
- Scoping affected systems and activating a response structure