Andrea Greene-Horace, MHA, EMCS

Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity/Deputy Program Manager-COOP-Business Continuity
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Centers for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight (CCIIO)

Protecting the Hospital Landscape against Ransomware Attacks and the Loss of Life

The healthcare industry is at a crossroads due to cyberattacks. Specifically, the hospital industry is viewed as being overwhelmed in its attempts to protect itself from cybersecurity attacks. As compared to other industry sectors, the healthcare sector is, in fact, more vulnerable. However, the reason why the hospital sector is not as cyber resilient as other sectors is not due to their lack of awareness or interest. Admittedly the healthcare industry’s awareness has improved, giving credit to these organizations. However, this improvement may also be largely due to ransomware attackers” following the money by turning their attention to better-capitalized industries.” For sustained impactful longevity and success, partnerships between an array of stakeholders are immediately required to strengthen the industry’s resiliency. How this can be accomplished will be explored, as well as the reasons why hospitals remain vulnerable, despite heightened awareness. The focus is on the enactment of a comprehensive solution, as failure in the hospital industry can have infinite and catastrophic consequences in terms of patient safety and access, as well as long-term national security implications. Further, emerging AI and quantum computing use both further complicate this scenario but can set up hospitals for huge successes with key partnerships established and plans executed.

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More information about this series is available at: https://pharm.ucsf.edu/cersi/cybersecurity