The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released its Draft National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP) in September. Now, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has written a letter focusing on three main topics to improve the plan.

The letter from HIMSS listed the various dimensions of cyber threats—including those taking place on land, sea, air and space—defined public health and safety risks and outlined how intelligence could improve cyber defense.

HIMSS outlined multiple level of cyber threats and that they encompass both the private and public sectors.

“The NCIRP should address the multiple dimensions of cyberspace so that this response plan is flexible and nimble enough to incorporate potential threat areas for the present time as well as into the future,” stated the letter.

Cyber attacks are not limited to institutions and have the potential to damage public health and safety. HIMSS suggested that the funding of the NH-ISAC grant will improve communication between healthcare systems to be more aware of the cyber threats surrounding them and their patients.

“Collaboration with the NH-ISAC and other stakeholders, particularly on threat identification and incident mitigation, will have a significant impact on public health and safety,” explained the letter.

In regards to the growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI), HIMSS added mention that the NCIRP should include how AI and machine-to-machine communications will affect the control of cyber threats.

Click here to read the entire letter from HIMSS.