Critical infrastructure depends on interconnected operational systems, where cyber incidents can disrupt essential services, safety, and availability.
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Critical infrastructure includes systems and assets vital for public health, safety, and economic stability, such as power grids, water treatment, transportation networks, and healthcare facilities. These systems often combine physical components with industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) that manage essential services in real time.
From an information-security perspective, critical infrastructure faces risks like unauthorized access to control systems, disruption of service availability, and manipulation of sensor data. Defending these assets requires specialized security measures tailored to ICS environments, including network segmentation, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring for anomalies. Ensuring resilience also involves coordinated efforts between operators and government agencies to address vulnerabilities unique to legacy systems and proprietary protocols.
Healthcare organizations and makers of medical devices need to think about how to safeguard their critical medical gear against future cyberthreats, including the looming dangers posed by quantum computing, said Mike Nelson, global vice president of digital trust at security firm DigiCert.
It's critical for hospitals and other firms to not only prepare for how they will respond to a cyberattack but also to consider the regional impact if a neighboring provider of services needed in the community is disrupted by a serious cyber incident, said Margie Zuk of Mitre.
The U.S. healthcare sector needs to closely watch government regulatory and legislative developments involving artificial intelligence, including the European Union AI Act, said Lee Kim, senior principal of cybersecurity and privacy at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.
Healthcare sector organizations need to focus their attention on meeting the "voluntary" essential and enhanced cybersecurity performance goals set out by federal regulators before they become potential mandates, said Kate Pierce, virtual information security officer at Fortified Heath Security.
HHS OCR Tells UnitedHealth Group it Will Scrutinize Co.'s HIPAA ComplianceFederal regulators have informed UnitedHealth Group that they have launched a full-fledged investigation into a potential massive compromise of protected health information stemming from the Change Healthcare cyberattack. A potential PHI breach could affect tens of millions of individuals.
Investment Signals Confidence in Nozomi's Cyber Tools for Critical InfrastructureNozomi Networks notched a $100 million funding round led by Schneider Electric and Mitsubishi, spotlighting the urgent need for advanced cybersecurity measures to protect critical infrastructure, industrial control systems and IoT networks in light of the increased destructiveness of attacks.
The vast healthcare ecosystem disruption caused by the recent attack on Change Healthcare, which affected more than 100 of the company's IT products and services, underscores the concentrated cyber risk when a major vendor suffers a serious cyber incident, said Keith Fricke, partner at tw-Security.
US Healthcare Entities Are Firmly in Akira Ransomware Group's Sights, Expert WarnsRansomware groups may come and go, but often it's only in name, as the individuals involved will move on to power whatever group remains a going concern. Cue a reported flow of top talent from LockBit, which was recently disrupted by law enforcement, to Akira, which is apparently alive and well.
The healthcare sector needs a 911-style cyber civil defense system that can help all segments of the industry, including under-resourced groups, to more rapidly and effectively respond to cyberattacks and related incidents, said Erik Decker, CISO of Intermountain Health and a federal cyber adviser.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working on grant programs and other financial programs to help under-resourced healthcare organizations deal with the cybersecurity challenges they're facing, said La Monte Yarborough, CISO and acting deputy CIO at HHS.
The Change Healthcare attack is already providing valuable lessons to healthcare firms - primarily the importance of resilience, especially when it comes the industry's supply chain and third parties, said Nitin Natarajan, deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
GAO Report Criticizes CISA's Info Sharing Programs for Critical InfrastructureThe U.S. Government Accountability Office found that CISA lacks the skilled staff to effectively share information with critical infrastructure operators about threats. Also, the GAO found that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration lacked an information-sharing process.
Budget Proposes Incremental Increases, Not Leaps, But Small Budget Cut for CISAThe Biden administration doesn't propose huge leaps in cybersecurity funding in an annual spending blueprint unveiled Monday afternoon. U.S. federal civilian cybersecurity spending would amount to $13 billion, while the military would spend $14.5 billion.
Sunil Dadlani, CIO and CISO of Atlantic Health System on AI Promise, RisksAI holds enormous potential for transforming and reimagining all aspects of healthcare, but mitigating the risks requires a collaborative, comprehensive approach prioritizing data security, regulatory compliance, and ethical considerations, said Sunil Dadlani, CIO and CISO at Atlantic Health System.