Hosted by the Scottish Local Government Digital Office, Digital Telecare has been working closely with Telecare providers to identify challenges to ensure a smooth, safe transition to a digital service for people in receipt of telecare.

When implementing digital telecare, telecare service providers are likely to use a range of suppliers to provide the equipment and services that form the overall solution. For this reason, telecare service providers need to evaluate the cyber security risk associated with each supplier before integrating their equipment/service into the solution.

Oysta Technology took part in a ‘digital telecare security assessment scheme‘, which was launched by Digital Telecare to access the cybersecurity risk associated with new telecare suppliers before integrating their equipment.

Businesses that pass the security checks are listed on the Digital Telecare Playbook as a supplier which provides an “appropriate level” of cybersecurity. Oysta’s IntelliCare platform, Pearl+ and Pearl II telecare solutions will all join the list

Digital Telecare has designed an assessment procedure to reduce the burden on suppliers to provide this evidence to multiple customer organisations and ensure a consistent and best-practice approach is taken to cyber security. They have recently launched the assessed supplier list.

Assessed Supplier List

Suppliers are assessed against their business processes related to cyber security. In addition, devices or services are also individually assessed and need to pass the process to be entered onto the ‘Assessed Suppliers List’.

"The Scottish digital telecare security-assessed suppliers scheme reviewed a submission from Oysta Technology for two alarm devices and the IntelliCare platform. The assessment panel was very impressed with pre-existing security culture and standards within Oysta, and their speed to implement improvements suggested. Both this assessment scheme, and Oysta's positive response to it, will help ensure that vulnerable telecare users across Scotland are protected against the threat posed by cyber criminals when using these services."

Andy Grayland, Chief Information Security Officer, Digital Office for Scottish Local Authorities.

Certifying the security of Oysta Technology digital telecare solutions, the recognition from Scottish Digital is something that Oysta founder Mario Zuccaro believes will provide benefit to those looking for telecare solutions in the UK:

“The rest of the UK does not have such strict data protection and security in place, therefore there is a requirement to have experts employed within each company to ensure that testing for security and resilience is thorough and accurate for each telecare device. The basic standards are there for companies to achieve, however at Oysta we always strive for a higher standard, via our own rigorous security testing. Vulnerable Independent People (VIP) in the UK, using digital telecare solutions, deserve technology that is robust and secure.

“The Assessed Supplier List from Digital Scotland is a clear and reliable account of digital telecare devices that are secure and can be trusted. It goes a long way in removing the risk of confusion in the market. Now that Oysta have had official confirmation on our security from Digital Scotland, we hope that this will reassure thousands of other VIPs and their care providers that Oysta Technology is the brand to trust.” Concludes Mario.