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INE Security’s Cyber Guardians initiative, announced on March 24, 2025, promotes cybersecurity training for physicians, healthcare staff and security teams. Its central idea is that protecting patient data and keeping care systems running is a shared responsibility—not just an IT task. INE describes hands-on training and certification preparation, but the announcement is an initiative rather than evidence of a separate, healthcare-specific course or a free training offer.
What is Cyber Guardians?
INE Security introduced Cyber Guardians during National Physicians Week 2025 as a call to make cybersecurity education part of healthcare protection. The initiative addresses the risks of ransomware, phishing, attacks through third parties and other threats to patient privacy and operational continuity. INE’s announcement does not describe a distinct Cyber Guardians curriculum, enrollment program or dedicated healthcare credential; it presents training as a way for healthcare organizations to build security skills across their workforce. Read INE’s announcement.
INE CEO Dara Warn put the message this way: “Every member of a healthcare team – from physicians to IT personnel – plays a role in cybersecurity. Continuous training ensures that protecting patient data and systems becomes as second-nature as protecting patients’ physical health.”
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Why healthcare training matters
INE’s announcement attributes several figures to industry reporting, but they should be read with those qualifications. It cites the HIPAA Journal’s report of 725 hacking-related breaches in U.S. healthcare in 2023, exposing more than 124 million patient records. INE also reports an average hospital breach cost of approximately $10.93 million, nearly one-third of healthcare employees receiving no employer cybersecurity training, and human mistakes contributing to roughly 33% of healthcare cyber incidents. The announcement does not link the latter figures to primary studies, so they are INE-reported figures rather than independently verified statistics here.
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Who the training may suit
Cybersecurity training needs differ across a healthcare organization. A physician or administrator generally needs practical habits for recognizing suspicious messages and handling sensitive information; technical staff need skills for securing systems, detecting threats and responding to incidents. INE positions its training for both broad workforce education and technical development.
- Physicians and general staff: foundational security awareness and safer day-to-day practices.
- Healthcare IT and security analysts: structured learning and practical technical skills.
- Incident responders and penetration testers: more specialized preparation and lab practice.
- Compliance administrators and training buyers: ways to support organizational upskilling in contexts that include HIPAA-related needs.
INE’s Security overview describes a train-practice-assess approach and references healthcare compliance and HIPAA-related needs, but that does not establish that completing a course ensures compliance. See INE’s Security overview.
What INE training includes
INE describes on-demand courses, structured learning paths, hands-on labs and certification preparation. Its beginner-focused page emphasizes practical lab work and certification-aligned paths; the broader Security page outlines Premium access and its exam-voucher offer. Those are features of INE’s training services, not necessarily a special package created for Cyber Guardians.
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Hands-on labs can let learners practice technical tasks in a controlled environment, which is different from relying only on videos or reading. That format is more directly relevant to IT and security roles than to every healthcare employee; general staff training should also address their everyday responsibilities and risks. Explore INE’s learning options.
Which certifications does INE prepare learners for?
INE’s Cyber Guardians announcement names CISSP, CompTIA Security+, eWPTX and eJPT as examples of credentials pursued by healthcare security teams. INE’s own pages also document preparation for eJPT, ICCA, CISSP, CompTIA Security+ and other vendor certifications. These are examples, not a claim that every certification is included in every plan or that they are healthcare-specific qualifications. Check the current course catalog and the relevant certification body’s requirements before choosing a credential.
INE subscription prices and what to check
INE’s product page currently lists the following prices. They may change, so confirm the amount, billing terms and inclusions on the page before purchasing.
| INE option | Listed price | Listed period |
|---|---|---|
| Certification bundle | $299 | Three months |
| Fundamentals | $349 | 12 months |
| Premium | $799 | 12 months |
INE says Premium subscribers receive a free voucher for one INE Security certification exam. The product page is the place to confirm current voucher eligibility, bundle contents and subscription terms. Check INE’s current plans and training details.
How a healthcare organization can evaluate training
Before selecting a subscription or building a staff program, match the training to learners’ roles and the organization’s objectives. A single technical course will not address the needs of an entire care team.
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- Separate audiences: distinguish general workforce awareness from technical training for IT, security and incident-response staff.
- Match content to tasks: look for practical exercises and learning paths appropriate to each audience, not simply a broad list of course titles.
- Check credentials: verify that the desired certification preparation is included in the plan being considered and review the certification issuer’s own requirements.
- Confirm organizational fit: assess how the training supports internal security and compliance work; do not treat course completion as proof of HIPAA compliance.
- Review purchasing terms: confirm price, duration, renewal and voucher details with INE before buying for individuals or teams.
What Cyber Guardians does—and does not—promise
Cyber Guardians is a useful framing for shared responsibility: healthcare security depends on informed staff as well as capable technical teams. The announcement points readers toward INE’s broader training offering; it does not establish a standalone program with a published curriculum, a healthcare-specific certification, or a guaranteed security outcome. Organizations should choose learning based on job roles and pair it with their own policies, safeguards and incident-response processes.
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