Two of the largest independent communities within England's National Health Service developed a system to notify other NHS hospitals of cybersecurity incidents and enable information sharing on response tips, Digital Health reports.
The "NHS Cyber Security Batsignal" is a peer-to-peer warning alert system thought up by the Chief Clinical Information Officer and Health CIO Networks, two communities of digital leaders representing the NHS trust.
When the WannaCry ransomware attacks ravaged NHS in May, the hospitals depended upon each other to share information and details as attacks unfolded. This proved valuable in deciding their response to the attacks before official communications had been released, according to Digital Health.
"The Batsignal project means that the CCIO and CIO networks have 1,800 pairs of highly-trained eyes on watch for the next WannaCry at all times and the means to give early warning to members who have signed up to receive text alerts," Joe McDonald, chair of the CCIO network and practicing psychiatrist, told Digital Health. "Discourse [the online collaboration platform used by the Networks] already proved its worth on the 12th of May and the added functionality makes membership of the network even more valuable than before."
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