Council’s guide helps recruit cybersecurity talent

Council’s guide helps recruit cybersecurity talent

The Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC), a public-private partnership of health care companies and providers developing collaborative solutions to mitigate threats to critical health care infrastructure, released a guide to help health care organizations attract and retain skilled cybersecurity talent. The guide offers resources to help hiring managers and chief information security officers think about cyber workforce development as a continuum, from hiring students to transitioning information technology staff to cybersecurity responsibilities, developing and managing professional development programs for executive-track cybersecurity personnel, and outsourcing critical functions.

EPA hazardous waste rule goes into effect

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began enforcing Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine last month. The final rule establishes cost-saving, streamlined standards for handling hazardous waste pharmaceuticals to better fit the operations of the health care sector while maintaining protection of human health and the environment. The aim of the rule is to make drinking and surface water safer and healthier by reducing the amount of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals entering waterways.

ASHRAE releases new HVAC Applications handbook

ASHRAE’s updated HVAC Applications volume comprised of 65 chapters covering a broad range of facilities and topics was written to help engineers design and use HVAC equipment and systems described in other ASHRAE handbook volumes. Main sections of the book cover comfort, industrial, energy-related and general applications, as well as building operations and management. The 2019 edition includes three new chapters in addition to updates to chapter 9 on health care facilities. The chapter has been extensively rewritten to address current HVAC requirements for health care facilities.

FDA warns of insulin pump’s cybersecurity risk

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning patients and health care providers that certain Medtronic MiniMed insulin pumps have potential cybersecurity risks. Caregivers should advise their patients with diabetes who are using these models to switch their insulin pump to models that are better equipped to protect against potential cybersecurity risks. The FDA has become aware that an unauthorized person (someone other than a patient, patient caregiver or health care provider) could potentially connect wirelessly to a nearby MiniMed insulin pump with cybersecurity vulnerabilities. This unauthorized person could change the pump’s settings to either over-deliver insulin to a patient, leading to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), or stop insulin delivery, leading to high blood sugar and diabetic ketoacidosis.