A Web-based Model To Determine Cybersecurity Readiness Index For Hospitals Towards Adoption Of E-health

The main goal of healthcare sector worldwide is to provide quality and efficient health services to citizens. As the threat landscape on healthcare continues to escalate, many hospitals still lag behind in terms of protecting its critical infrastructure and electronic protected health information (ePHI).This research provided solution by designing a web application that will help the healthcare determine its Cybersecurity Readiness Index (CRI). The research targeted 55 respondents from 11 hospitals both private and public operating within Nakuru County. 50 questionnaires were returned translating to 91% response rate. The design of the model was based on 4 cybersecurity elements (people, process, policy, and technology). After an in depth analysis it was established that there existed a positive and statistically significant correlation between CRI and each of the four cybersecurity elements. Relevant weights for designing the mathematical model were derived using regression analysis. The model was implemented as a web based application through design science using PHP as a server-side language, MYSQL as a database engine and Bootstrap for the responsive front-end. This research is significant in the sense that, hospitals will be able to check their cyber readiness status, maintain its systems, sustain its operations, protect against current and future cyber threats, and respond and recover from it.