PCM Trials Recognized for Outstanding Cybersecurity
Leading provider of mobile research nurses wins prestigious CSO50 award
DENVER (July 10, 2023) – PCM Trials, a global provider of mobile research nurses for clinical trials, is one of only 50 companies throughout the U.S. to receive the prestigious CSO50 award. This is the second time that the company has been an award recipient, joining the ranks of some of America’s largest companies from an array of industries, including healthcare, financial services, air transportation, retail and software development, to name a few, who have also been honored for setting new standards in information security.
The CSO50 is a recognized mark of risk and security excellence that honors security projects that demonstrate outstanding thought leadership and business value. Each year CSO, a premier security media brand, recognizes 50 organizations from across the country for their award-winning security innovations. Award entries are scored according to a uniform set of criteria by a panel of judges that includes security leaders, industry experts, and academics.
“We are truly honored to receive this distinguished award and to have our work in the area of information security recognized by industry leaders,” said Greg Austin, President of PCM Trials. “Our company recognizes the sensitive nature of the data we process and store, and we pride ourselves in being good stewards of that data by making the necessary investments in industry-leading technologies and practices that help to protect patient information. We know that this is a priority not only for our clinical trial participants, but also CROs and sponsors who include some of the largest, most sophisticated pharmaceutical companies in the world. We continue to be cutting edge leaders in our industry because our clients trust that we had the necessary expertise, technologies and resources to safeguard patient data.”
The CSO50 award comes at a time when the healthcare industry, as a whole, is under increased attack and scrutiny. According to Check Point Research, healthcare organizations around the world averaged 1,463 cyberattacks per week in 2022, up 74% compared with 2021. U.S. healthcare organizations continue to be the most compromised by data breaches for the third year in a row, with 344 breaches in 2022, per the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) 2022 Data Breach Report. The healthcare industry is frequently targeted by hackers and ransomware attacks largely because of the industry’s tremendous access to personal, highly confidential, valuable patient data.
The project that won PCM Trials the CSO 50 award in 2023
The project that won PCM Trials the CSO50 award in 2023 was entitled “Security Automation in a Cloud-Native Environment.” The award recognized PCM’s novel approach to centralize the monitoring of cyber activity across its entire footprint of devices, applications and networks, and to launch automated protective responses 24/7. The automation of the security response enables PCM to remain up and running, without interruption, while security threats are handled. This helps to keep even the most vulnerable trials on schedule so that critical drug approvals are not delayed.
“We feel truly privileged to be included in the list of this year’s winners which includes some of the top names in their respective fields,” said Charlie Billings, Chief Information Officer for PCM Trials. “I can’t say enough about the commitment of our team in getting this work done and applying a very novel, unprecedented approach to developing custom solutions. With millions of logs to review, it would have been nearly impossible for us to manage this work manually. But now we can automatically monitor threats and proactively address them 24/7. There are many companies out there that are significantly larger than us who don’t possess this type of capability.”
“This innovative work helps to really set us apart in our field,” added Austin. “More important than what we are saving in remediation and cleanup costs, not to mention the added expense of potential fines and ransomware demands, is that we have established a reputation for reliable, credible and secure patient data management. And it is this reputation that has allowed our company to achieve its double-digit growth over the past year alone.”
This year’s winners will be officially recognized at the annual CSO50 conference in Fort McDowell, Arizona, October 2-4.
For more information about PCM Trials, visit pcmtrials.com.
About PCM Trials
Since 2008, PCM Trials has led the way in mobile research. Our Certified Mobile Research Nurses (CMRNs) are driving the shift to patient-centric, decentralized clinical trials, giving individuals the flexibility to engage in research studies in the ways that work best for them and expanding opportunities for participation. As a result of this innovative clinical trial approach, PCM Trials is enabling faster trial enrollment, higher participant retention rate, improved protocol adherence, greater patient diversity, and uncompromised data quality.
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