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.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warns that hackers are now using social engineering tactics to target IT help desks across the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector. [...]
Company Makes Progress Restoring IT Services, But Disruption LingersAs recovery from its Feb. 21 cyberattack continues, Change Healthcare and its parent company UnitedHealth Group are facing a growing pile of lawsuits, while health sector entities affected by the IT services disruption are dealing with a mounting stack of bills and other paperwork to catch up on.
Also: HHS Updates HIPAA Privacy Guidance on Patient Requests to Restrict PHI AccessFederal regulators are continuing their crusade for healthcare firms to provide patients and their representatives with timely access to medical records when requested. HHS OCR recently hit two nursing home operators with fines in separate incidents involving HIPAA "right of access" disputes.
The initiative is meant to provide more resources and better strategies for healthcare entities that face an increasing amount of cybersecurity challenges.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's updated Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 can help healthcare organizations better formalize their governance functions to enhance their cybersecurity posture and resilience, said Robert Booker, chief strategy officer at HITRUST.
Also, TheMoon botnet back for EoL SOHO routers, Sellafield to be prosecuted for 'infosec failures', plus critical vulns Infosec in brief Nearly a year on from the discovery of a massive data theft at healthcare biz Harvard Pilgrim, and the number of victims has now risen to nearly 2.9 million people in all US states.…