The US government is offering $50 million to anyone who can develop new technology that better protects healthcare IT equipment.
Due to the sensitivity of the data it generates, the healthcare industry is one of the most targeted industries in the US, with ransomware actors constantly targeting hospitals and insurance companies. After identifying the problem two years ago, the Biden administration formed a new agency within the US government called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H.
Now, this agency has launched the UPGRADE project – Universal Patches and Remediation for Autonomous Defense. The goal of the project is to create a software package that will scan healthcare IT equipment for vulnerabilities, apply patches when available, and develop and test mitigations when patches are not available.
Ensure the health of the nation
The problem with keeping healthcare IT equipment up to date is that it needs to be taken offline during patching, which could leave patients vulnerable. Register explains in his article. That said, the project will require teams to create a vulnerability mitigation software platform, build digital twins for hospital equipment, automatically detect flaws, and automatically develop custom defenses.
“We continue to see how interconnected our nation's healthcare ecosystem is and how critical it is for our patients and clinical operations to be protected from cyberattacks,” HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said in a statement. “The ARPA-H UPDATE will help leverage HHS' healthcare cybersecurity strategy to ensure all hospital systems, large and small, can operate more securely and adapt to the evolving landscape.”
In addition to social engineering, software vulnerabilities are one of the most common entry points for cybercriminals, who constantly attack healthcare organizations. Recently, Change Healthcare was the victim of a ransomware attack that not only disrupted its operations and possibly put patients at risk, but also forced the provider to pay $22 million in cryptocurrency.
