cyber security

See the following -

3 Global Health IT Takeaways You Need to Know - Reflections from ONC 3rd Interoperability Forum

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) engages in several global health IT projects from a United States government perspective. ONC works with global counterparts to share experiences, and ensure alignment between global interoperability efforts and the United States' approaches to interoperability. This includes working through worldwide partnerships, bi-lateral and multi-lateral engagements, global networks, and memoranda of understanding. Through these engagements, we focus on advancing common health data standards for global interoperability, enhancing individuals' access to their data, progressing healthcare providers' experiences, and improving factors associated with transparency and competition.

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A Snapshot of ONC's Global Health IT Efforts

On today's World Health Day, I'd like to give you an inside look at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) global health IT work. Advancing digital health (or e-health) is gaining worldwide momentum as nations seek to leverage health IT. While each country and jurisdiction has a different approach to healthcare, global digital health advancements are becoming a common thread across the world. In December 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the European Union (EU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to galvanize cooperation on advancing digital health in both regions. The MOU focuses on three areas: interoperability, workforce, and innovation.

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B3 Group Awarded T4NG $22.3B IDIQ Contract at VA

Press Release | B3 Group, Inc. | March 7, 2016

B3 Group, Inc. (B3 Group) and its teammates (Team B3 Group) have been selected for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) multiple award Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Program Next Generation (T4NG) contract. B3 Group was one of twenty companies for a Prime contract, selected out of a pool of hundreds of bidders for the contract. This 10-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract enables the VA to acquire IT services in multiple Functional Areas, including...

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Bristol Council's Open Source Plan Thwarted by Security Clearance Problems

Mark Ballard | Computer Weekly | September 27, 2011

Bristol City Council's open source push has suffered another series of set-backs that point a finger of blame at CESG, the cyber security arm of government intelligence unit GCHQ. Leaders at the local authority claim that the need for CESG security certification of e-mail systems effectively means the council has no choice but to buy Microsoft. Read More »

China Isn’t Wrong To Call The U.S. "The Real Hacking Empire"

Lily Kuo | Nextgov | May 9, 2013

The cyberwar between China and the US has spread from computers into the halls of diplomacy. In a report this week, the Pentagon said for the first time that the Chinese government and military have been launching cyber attacks against the US. Today, Chinese state media called the US “the real hacking empire” and said the country has “an extensive espionage network.” Read More »

Convening Public Benefit And Charitable Foundations Working In Open Domains

Press Release | Open Source Initiative (OSI) | July 12, 2023

The public policy team of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) has launched the Open Policy Alliance (OPA), a new program aimed at building and supporting a coalition of underrepresented voices from public benefit and charitable foundations. The OPA, has been created in response to increased demand for public dialog and stakeholder engagement in the Open Source software community as well as adjacent areas such as open content, research, AI and data. Open Source ecosystem veteran Deborah Bryant, OSI US policy director, will lead the program. “While Open Source is a global, borderless activity, public policies are developed locally,” said Bryant. “The OPA will focus on education in the US while exchanging and sharing information with like-minded organizations globally. The OPA seeks to empower these voices and enable them to actively participate in educating and informing US public policy decisions related to Open Source software, content, research and education.”

Estonia Using Blockchain to Secure Health Records

Medha Basu | Gov Insider | March 6, 2016

The Estonian Government will use Blockchain technology to protect citizens’ electronic health records. Digital transactions made with Blockchain technology are irreversibly recorded. The records are impossible to change because they are shared globally across thousands of computers in real time through a distributed ledger. While Blockchain has largely been used to secure payments, Estonia shows that it can be more widely implemented...

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IBM Report: Cost of Data Breaches Hit Record High During Pandemic - Healthcare Breaches Cost the Most By Far, at $9.23 Million per Incident

Press Release | IBM Security, Ponemon Institute | July 28, 2021

IBM Security today announced the results of a global study which found that data breaches now cost surveyed companies $4.24 million per incident on average - the highest cost in the 17-year history of the report. Based on in-depth analysis of real-world data breaches experienced by over 500 organizations, the study suggests that security incidents became more costly and harder to contain due to drastic operational shifts during the pandemic, with costs rising 10% compared to the prior year...Healthcare breaches cost the most by far, at $9.23 million per incident - a $2 million increase over the previous year.

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Increase in International Cyber Attacks Calls for National Testbed

HSD Foundation | The Hague Security Delta | October 24, 2016

On Friday 21st of October The United States was subjected to massive and widespread cyberattacks which disrupted website domains and internet traffic through DDoS attacks. DDoS attacks flood websites with traffic and impairs normal services. "The massive outage drew the attention of the FBI which said Friday that it was "investigating all potential causes" of the attack." Popular websites like Twitter, Amazon, Spotify and Netflix went down for some users on Friday...

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Labor Dept. $500 Million Community College Grants Include Health IT

Bernie Monegain | Government Health IT | September 20, 2012

The Department of Labor released $500 million in grants to community colleges and universities around the country for the development and expansion of training programs, including for health IT and other healthcare programs in rural areas. Read More »

Maryland and Estonian Civilians Take Up Arms Against Hackers

Aliya Sternstein | Nextgov | July 25, 2013

Maryland has started a volunteer netwarfare squad that the Estonian ambassador likens to her country's groundbreaking civilian cyber reserve, which was assembled after neighboring Russia allegedly shut down the former Soviet state's Internet access in 2007. Read More »

NHS Urged to Consider Microsoft Alternatives Following Cyber Attacks

Jon Hoeksma | Digital Health | May 17, 2017

In the wake of Friday’s international cyber attacks, which caused widespread disruption across NHS organisations, a small team of developers is recommending the health service reduce its reliance on Microsoft. The NHS almost exclusively uses Microsoft operating systems, some of which – like Windows XP – are no longer officially supported. To demonstrate that there is a licence-free alternative, GP Marcus Baw and technologist Rob Dyke have adapted the open source Linux-based Ubuntu operating system specifically for the NHS...

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ONC's Efforts to Advance Worldwide Digital Health - The Global Digital Health Partnership White Papers

As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to see how digital health plays a vital role in care delivery. ONC recognizes the importance of advancing digital health at domestic and global levels. As discussed in a previous blog post, part of ONC's global engagement includes representing the United States in the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP). The GDHP currently runs five work streams: Interoperability, Clinical and Consumer Engagement, Cyber Security, Evidence and Evaluation, and Policy Environments.

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Open Policy Alliance: A New Program To Amplify Underrepresented Voices In Public Policy Development

On behalf of the Open Source Initiative and the public policy team,  I’m very pleased to share early news of our new educational program – one aimed at building and supporting a coalition of underrepresented voices from public benefit and charitable foundations. This new program – the Open Policy Alliance – seeks to empower these voices and enable them to actively  participate in educating and informing US public policy decisions related to Open Source software, content, research, and education.  The OPA is created in response to increased demand for public dialog and stakeholder engagement in these adjacent and related “open domains”.

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Who is spying on you? And do you care?

Several of our interns and younger editorial staff at Open Health News (OHN) have made a point of collecting and posting news clips about NSA and government spying on web sites. Read More »