Partnership Formed to Enhance Cybersecurity Information Sharing at the State Level

On Jan 26, 2016

The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) and the National Healthcare Information Sharing and Analysis Center (NH-ISAC) announced today a partnership to enhance cybersecurity information sharing on behalf of New Jersey’s healthcare providers. Under the agreement, which was signed at the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center among hospital executives from across the State, the NJCCIC and NH-ISAC will exchange cyber threat indicators in automated fashion to promote shared situational awareness of adversary tools and tactics related to the healthcare sector.  The agreement mandates strict data handling, classification, and disclosure protocols to protect the confidentiality of both parties’ constituents.

This partnership marks the second of its kind between the NJCCIC and a sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). In July, the NJCCIC partnered similarly with the Financial Services ISAC to facilitate better information sharing among New Jersey’s banking institutions. Denise Anderson, president of the NH-ISAC and the Chair of the National Council of ISACs, considers this agreement a model for public-private cybersecurity partnerships at the state level.

“The ISACs have a long history of collaborating with the States and Fusion Centers,” said Anderson. “The automated sharing of indicators is another step in the evolution of information sharing and situational awareness. We are very pleased to be entering into this formal partnership with NJCCIC to share cyber threat information and we look forward to working with NJCCIC to help critical infrastructure owners and operators protect the resilience and integrity of their operations.”

“New Jersey’s healthcare sector is critical to the livelihood of our citizens and the prosperity of our local economy,” said Dr. Chris Rodriguez, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the parent agency of the NJCCIC. “Partnering with NH-ISAC to fuse our cyber intelligence sources will contribute to a far greater understanding of the threats impacting our healthcare providers.”

Both the NJCCIC and NH-ISAC will perform automated indicator sharing (AIS) to exchange and correlate cyber intelligence data from their respective organizations in real-time. “Information sharing is most effective when intelligence awareness outpaces the proliferation of threats,” said Dave Weinstein, New Jersey’s Director of Cybersecurity. “This partnership helps New Jersey and our healthcare providers keep pace with new attack methodologies as they emerge in the healthcare sector’s ever-changing technology landscape.”

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