The Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) has published a Medical Product Manufacturer Cyber Incident Playbook (MPM CIRP). This comprehensive guide is designed to help medical product manufacturers prepare for and respond effectively to cyber incidents affecting their operations. It provides actionable information, step-by-step guidance and well-defined processes to streamline incident response efforts facing potential cyber threats.
The HSCC’s Manufacturing Operational Technology Cybersecurity Task Group has specifically developed this guide to help small and medium-sized medical manufacturing companies. Recognizing that these organizations often face unique challenges in implementing robust cybersecurity practices, the working group aims to equip them with practical tools and strategies to improve their incident response capabilities and protect operational technologies from cyber threats.
In case of a security incident like a ransomware attack, an efficient and effective response will be possible if a detailed incident response plan is created and enforced. The incident response plan must deal with various cyber incidents and identify the methods and procedures that should be implemented for response, restoration, and post-incident evaluation. The incident response plan requires a cyber incident response team (CIRT) to be set up and trained regarding the incident response plan. Tabletop routines must be carried out to ensure everyone understands what must be done and to determine and correct any fault in the plan.
A good cyber incident response plan is not just focused on the reactionary measures after a security incident, for example, containment and removal. It also includes procedures created for identifying incidents, creating notifications, escalation, and reporting a cyber incident, along with recovery and post-incident steps like documenting the effect and the lessons realized. This data must be provided to the planning team to enhance response to upcoming incidents. This is something similar to creating a HIPAA incident response plan to protect data privacy and security.
The HSCC Medical Product Manufacturer Cyber Incident Response Playbook (MPM CIRP) provides initial instructions to help healthcare product producers create efficient cyber incident response strategies. The document includes the steps that should be taken to get ready for incidents and the associated interferences, the processes and strategies related to response and recovery, and the sector and government associates that may be involved during an incident to offer support and coordinate messaging for occurrences that demand conversation with clients and the public. The step-by-step guide was created for healthcare product producers of all sizes and is designed and customized to make internal playbooks for their particular situations.
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