Prioritizing Identity and Getting the Fundamentals Right – Bezawit Sumner – CSP #151

Bezawit Sumner is the Chief Information Security Officer and Senior Director of Security & Compliance for CRISP Shared Services (CSS), a non-profit organization which provides health information technology and support services, including privacy & security and finance, to affiliate members and other jurisdictions by way of agreement. CSS was founded in 2020 as a subsidiary of CRISP, the state-designated health information exchange and health data utility in Maryland, and to date shares infrastructure with statewide HIEs in Maryland, West Virginia, Connecticut, Alaska, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. As CSS CISO, Bezawit leads the cybersecurity, information security, and compliance programs and all supporting activities for the enterprise and connected affiliates.

Bezawit joined CRISP in November 2017 and was initially responsible for managing internal security and privacy audit activities. Over time, she developed a broad understanding of the organization’s infrastructure, security environment, and underlying requirements necessary for comprehensive security management and earned progressive leadership roles. Bezawit is an experienced Compliance and Security professional with a demonstrated history of successfully collaborating within the health IT sector. She has led organization wide programs in accordance with federal and state regulations and other compliance requirements, information security frameworks (HITRUST, SOC-2, EHNAC), internal design control, audits, and risk-based vendor management with an underlying passion to continually operationalize information security & compliance. Bezawit holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Jackson State University has her B.Sc. and M.S. from Jackson State University. Bezawit completed a thesis-based M.Sc. degree in colon cancer research.