Biden Administration Continuos Initiative to Improve Health Care Sector Cyber Posture

The Biden administration is continuing to work toward improving the cyber posture of the nation’s health care sector by increasing its collaboration with the private sector. 

To address the sector’s cybersecurity issues, the White House has entered into partnerships with Microsoft and Google. For the Microsoft collaboration, the two organizations will deploy a wide range of Microsoft solutions in independent Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Emergency Hospitals to further protect such facilities from cyberthreats. 

Another cybersecurity initiative is the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health’s Universal Patching and Remediation for Autonomous Defense program, WhiteHouse .gov reported.

Calls to enhance the health care sector’s cyber resiliency come after Change Healthcare experienced a ransomware attack, which ended with its parent company UnitedHealth Group paying 350 bitcoins, or $22 million, to the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware group. 

After the ransomware group made a significant impact on the U.S. critical infrastructure sector, every branch of the government has launched its initiatives to fortify the health care sector from cyberattacks. In late March, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced the Health Care Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2024 on the Senate floor to advance and accelerate payments to health care providers affected by the attack.