Council issues guide to recruiting skilled health care cybersecurity talent

The Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council, a public-private partnership of health care companies and providers developing collaborative solutions to mitigate threats to critical health care infrastructure, last week released a guide to help health care organizations attract and retain skilled cybersecurity talent. The guide offers resources to help hiring managers and chief information security officers think about cyber workforce development as a continuum, from hiring students to transitioning information technology staff to cybersecurity responsibilities, developing and managing professional development programs for executive-track cybersecurity personnel, and outsourcing critical functions not otherwise resourced within the enterprise. “Attracting and retaining cybersecurity talent is a major challenge in all industry sectors,” said Greg Garcia, executive director for cybersecurity at HSCC. “But as medical and wearable health care technology become more connected, patient safety will increasingly rely on cyber safety, and a skilled workforce is essential to finding that balance.” For more information on this or other cyber issues, contact John Riggi, AHA senior advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at jriggi@aha.org.