Industry
Health System
Challenge
A healthcare organization realized their cybersecurity posture posed a significant risk to their growth agenda, revenue goals, and patient outcome standards. While they had established a Security Council and appointed a Security Officer, these roles were assigned as additional responsibilities to existing leaders. No one was solely focused on cybersecurity. The organization needed to extend the expertise of their leadership team and bridge the capacity gap without incurring the budget of a full time executive hire.
Results
By involving a cybersecurity advisor in a fractional capacity, the organization fortified its program with healthcare specific expertise. The advisor provided the strategic direction and capacity needed to improve defense against risks. This partnership allowed the internal Security Officer to own the program while relying on expert counsel to navigate complex compliance requirements. The organization successfully moved from a reactive security model to a proactive strategy that protects both patient data and business continuity.
Services Provided
IT Advisory Services, Cybersecurity
About the Provider
This organization is a healthcare provider committed to clinical excellence and rapid organizational growth. Recognizing that cybersecurity is a foundational requirement for modern patient care, they sought to move beyond a "bolted on" security model. By prioritizing the protection of their revenue and reputation, they opted for an advisory model that provides high level expertise tailored to the unique scarcity of rural and community healthcare resources.Defining the Cybersecurity Strategy
The engagement began with a comprehensive assessment of the current security program. The CereCore advisor compared the existing state with the organization’s top priorities to determine a clear strategic direction. This included evaluating current threats, HIPAA compliance requirements, and specific IT business needs. By establishing a preferred security framework, such as NIST CSF 2.0, the advisor helped the leadership team define the scope of work and the timeline necessary to achieve a mature security model.
Building Cybersecurity Resilience
Cyber resilience is the ability to continue delivering services despite adverse cyber events. The advisor evaluated the organization’s current resilience protocols against industry standards like NIST SP 800-160. This involved a deep dive into critical workflows including identity and access management, security monitoring, and asset management. By identifying gaps in these areas, the advisor provided recommendations that were incorporated into the broader cybersecurity program to ensure that patient care remains uninterrupted even during a technical crisis.
Improving Cybersecurity Posture
To move from strategy to action, the advisor developed a roadmap with specific timeframes and resources needed to operationalize system changes. This included formulating detailed action plans to enrich current security standards and ensure the organization can respond to a dynamic threat landscape. The advisor also took over the oversight of cybersecurity awareness practices, monitoring notices from CISA, FBI InfraGard, and HHS. This ensures that leadership stays informed on healthcare security trends and can proactively prepare for future developments.
Key Outcomes:
Strategic Roadmap Development: Defined a clear path for security, resilience, and compliance based on the organization’s specific risk profile.
Expert Advisory Support: Provided the HIPAA required Security Officer with the counsel and expertise needed to operate a sophisticated program.
Enhanced Cyber Resilience: Evaluated and improved the organization’s ability to maintain clinical services during adverse cyber events using NIST standards.
Proactive Threat Intelligence: Established a system for monitoring and communicating threats from federal agencies like CISA and HHS to reduce overall risk.
Incident Response Preparedness: Created a plan of action for executing response protocols, providing additional leadership capacity during actual security incidents.
Result
The organization gained the expertise and confidence of a full scale security program at a fraction of the cost, ensuring their growth and patient outcomes are protected by a proactive, healthcare focused defense.
Ready to get started?
