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 chaos experienced by thousands of healthcare organizations in the wake of the massive Change Healthcare cyberattack and IT outage in February is proof that most organizations are simply unprepared for such devastating incidents, said Bryan Chnowski, deputy CISO at Nuvance Health.
Many healthcare organizations have discovered major gaps in business operations preparedness - the ability to quickly rebound from major IT disruptions, such as those caused by the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Jigar Kadakia, CISO of Emory Healthcare, said it's time to come up with a Plan B.
Healthcare is increasingly complex and interconnected, and the push to exchange more digital patient information among providers adds to the threat of busy staff falling victim to phishing and other scams that can jeopardize data, said Krista Arndt, CISO of United Musculoskeletal Partners.
As cyber threats loom large and data breaches continue to pose increasingly significant risks. Organizations and industries that handle sensitive information and valuable assets make prime targets for cybercriminals seeking financial gain or strategic advantage. Which is why many highly regulated sectors, from finance to utilities, are turning to military-grade cyber defenses to safeguard
Ascension, one of the largest U.S. healthcare systems, revealed that a May 2024 ransomware attack was caused by an employee who downloaded a malicious file onto a company device. [...]
All Patients, Employees Offered Credit Monitoring While Investigation ContinuesRansomware attackers stole files that potentially contain patient and employee data from seven of Ascension's 25,000 servers. The hackers gained access to the organization's network when an employee inadvertently downloaded a file containing malware, said the Missouri-based healthcare system.
It's critical for CISOs to study what went wrong in major ransomware IT disruptions and breaches hitting the healthcare sector and to look closely within their own organizations for similar gaps or vulnerabilities, said Michael Prakhye, CISO of Adventist HealthCare.
Healthcare firm Ascension said that ransomware attackers gained access to its systems after an employee accidently downloaded a malicious file
Critical infrastructure is facing increasingly disruptive threats to physical processes, while thousands of devices are online with weak authentication and riddled with exploitable bugs.
High-Assurance Security Tech Boosts Everfox's Government and Infrastructure ToolsEverfox's purchase of Garrison Technology is set to fortify its cybersecurity offerings, especially for government and critical infrastructure. The deal leverages Garrison's advanced hardware security technology to complement Everfox's existing capabilities in threat protection and insider risk.
The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) warned today that the impact of a Chinese cyber-espionage campaign unveiled earlier this year is "much larger than previously known." [...]
Bipartisan U.S. Senators Demand Change Healthcare Breach Notification by June 21Two U.S. senators are demanding UnitedHealth Group report a HIPAA breach and notify affected individuals no later than June 21, alleging the company is already violating HIPAA by dragging out the notification process in the aftermath of the Feb. 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare.
Vendors' Free, Discounted Services Part of Biden's Health Sector Cyber InitiativeGoogle and Microsoft have agreed to provide free or highly discounted cyber assistance to rural and critical-access hospitals to support of an evolving strategy from the White House aimed at bolstering cybersecurity in the healthcare sector in the face of rising attacks.