Bipartisan Legislation Is Latest Congressional Move to Enhance Healthcare Security
A bipartisan trio of U.S. senators has introduced legislation aimed at improving healthcare sector cybersecurity by directing the Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, including creating a CISA liaison to work with HHS.
Includes article input from Errol Weiss, chief security officer at the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
Read the full article in Healthcare InfoSecurity here:
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee (HealthInfoSec) • July 16, 2024
More Urgency Needed
Some experts say the bill is commendable but misses the mark, especially in terms of urgency.
“I appreciate the work Sens. Rosen, King and Young are doing to try to improve cybersecurity in healthcare, but there are more pressing needs,” said Errol Weiss, chief security officer at the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
“We don’t need another 18 months to study the problem. We already know many healthcare provider organizations are severely under-resourced when it comes to cybersecurity. We see it just about every day in reports of ransomware disrupting hospital operations,” he said.
Healthcare providers don’t have the budgets to purchase much-needed technology and worse yet, they don’t have the funding needed to attract and retain experienced cybersecurity professionals, Weiss said.
“That’s what the industry needs now. Resources and investment in technology and staff to adequately protect healthcare providers.”