Cyber Threat Intelligence Certificate Enhances Cybersecurity Skills

The healthcare sector is acutely aware of how important it is to safeguard its most critical asset—information. Challenges from cybersecurity threat actors and a limited number of professionals with the skills to address and mitigate cyber risks put the privacy and security of health information in jeopardy. 

If you relate to this statement about protecting the privacy and security of information as an health information (HI) professional, you may not realize you have the potential to expand your current skills while increasing your ability to understand and collaborate more effectively with information technology (IT) professionals and garner a valuable certificate that enhances your professional HI acumen. 

Working with experts in cybersecurity, AHIMA created a cyber threat intelligence (CTI) certificate tailored specifically for healthcare professionals. The certificate establishes a knowledge pathway that can enhance your skills in the field, increase your ability to understand and collaborate effectively with information technology professionals, and create an initial bridge for you into the world of cybersecurity. 

Read on to learn more about whether the CTI certificate might be in your wheelhouse. 

The Value of a CTI Certificate 

In gaining a CTI certificate with AHIMA, you will affirm your ability to:  

• Examine data and use analytical skills to convey information related to that data 
• Communicate effectively in both written and verbal formats  
• Demonstrate technical proficiency applicable to the role 
• Identify and assess risks that may impact an organization’s data security efforts 
• Design and deliver reports and recommendations to help proactively address, mitigate, and remediate issues that may impact an organization’s information security endeavors 

The CTI course focuses on the fundamentals of cybersecurity practices and the intricate process of navigating through an organization’s cybersecurity framework. It also offers insights around the role, scope, and advantages of cyber threat intelligence functions specific to the healthcare setting. And finally, it allows you to explore the methodologies and advantages of sharing cyber threat intelligence across an organization. 

The CTI course prep content is set at an intermediate-to-advanced level of learning specifically designed to prepare learners for successful completion of the certificate. It was developed in coordination with a chief information security officer (CISO) and vetted in partnership with senior leaders at Health-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC). H-ISAC is a global, non-profit, member-driven organization that connects health security professionals globally to enable them to share insights, real-time alerts, and best practices. You can find out more information about H-ISAC at health-isac.org.

During the AHIMA25 Conference Oct. 12-14 in Minneapolis, AHIMA will offer an overview of the course during a Learning Bites session. We hope you’ll join us to see if this certificate is right for you! AHIMA25 will also include sessions to help attendees grow their cybersecurity knowledge, share best practices for strengthening data resilience and integrating redundancy into a broader cybersecurity strategy, and provide insights into response planning. Registration to the conference is available now online. 

HI professionals have always had a responsibility to protect the privacy and security of health information, but today, we’re navigating new challenges in protecting and defending patients’ sensitive health information—and that often requires more than a general awareness of cybersecurity. As part of your professional growth, we invite you to consider whether diving deeper into that world—learning more and staying attuned to the evolving cybersecurity challenges and ways in which you can gain new skills and contribute to the cyber risk mitigation efforts at your organization—might be your next step!  

If you’re interested in pursuing the CTI certificate, you can find more information at the AHIMA store here. 

Robyn Stambaugh, MS, RHIA, CHPS, is education program director of privacy and security/compliance at AHIMA.