The Agency is cognisant of the inherent cyber security risks posed by systems connected to and accessing the My Health Record system, as well as potentially vulnerable aspects of the national infrastructure and all services under its care. To address this risk, a set of security requirements for systems connecting to the My Health Record system have been identified. The controls that are most relevant to the development of software for healthcare organisations, have been selected from the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Information Security Manual (ISM).
The focus of this conformance profile is on incorporating the security control functionalities within software systems that are connected to the My Health Record system either directly or indirectly. This conformance profile is intended to set a minimum standard or baseline level of cyber security that is expected of connecting systems, and that is consistently adopted. The requirements in this conformance profile are intended to strike an appropriate balance between strengthening the cyber security posture of all connecting systems and minimising potential impacts on software providers and overall system participation. In doing so, this conformance profile supports the overarching goals of improving security within healthcare software systems and fostering a secure and trusted healthcare ecosystem.
The Agency is in the process of updating the My Health Record System Conformance Assessment Scheme (CAS) for connecting systems that refers to conformance requirements in the profile. It is anticipated that the release of the updated CAS will coincide with the release of the final version of the new profile.