NHS Digital has announced a new £20m project aimed at enhancing its ability to support the NHS with its data security. Under this project, a new unit, the Security Operations Centre (SOC), will be created to provide enhanced monitoring of national services across health and care. The SOC will also empower NHS Digital to offer specific advice and guidance to local NHS organisations.

NHS Digital is on the lookout for a partner to support them with the project, with the contract expected to run for three to five years.

Dan Taylor, Head of the Digital Security Centre at NHS Digital, explains: "The Security Operations Centre will enhance NHS Digital's current data security services that support the health and care system in protecting sensitive patient information."

The partnership will boost the existing services provided by NHS Digital, including:

- A monitoring service which analyses intelligence from multiple sources and shares guidance, advice, threat intelligence and remediation to relevant contacts in health and care

-On-site data security assessments for NHS organisations, to enable them to identify any potential weaknesses and to get the best value from local investment

- Specialist support for any NHS organisation which believes it may have been affected by a cyber security incident

With the support of SOC, NHS Digital will be able to flexibly bring in additional specialist expertise and increase capability as and when required. "The partnership will provide access to extra specialist resources during peak periods and enable the team to proactively monitor the web for security threats and emerging vulnerabilities, Taylor says.  

In addition, the partnership allow NHS Digital to improve its current capabilities in ethical hacking, vulnerability testing and the forensic analysis of malicious software, and will improve its ability to anticipate future vulnerabilities while supporting health and care in remediating current known threats, according to Taylor.

"By creating a national, near-real-time monitoring and alerting service that covers the whole health and care system, the SOC will drive economies of scale, giving health and care organisations additional intelligence and support services that they might not otherwise be able to access," he adds.

Source: NHS Digital
Image Credit: Pixabay




Latest Articles

data security, cybersecurity, cyberhacking NHS Digital has announced a new £20m project aimed at enhancing its ability to support the NHS with its data security. Under this project, a new unit, the Security Operations Centre (SOC), will be created to provide enhanced monitoring of national service