New ARPA-H Project Seeks to Protect Medical Facilities From Cyber Threats

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is soliciting technology proposals for its newly launched Digital Health Security project seeking to protect the U.S. healthcare system’s digital infrastructure.

The agency, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, seeks proven technologies designed for national security and applicable to civilian health systems, clinical care facilities and personal health devices.

The DIGIHEALS project’s objective is ensuring continued patient care despite a medical facility cyberattack, ARPA-H said. The project will also help to identify the limitations of future technology deployments and contribute to digital security innovations in health systems, ARPA-H Program Manager Andrew Carney said.

Off-the-shelf software tools currently available “fall short” in the detection of emerging cyber threats and protection of medical facilities, according to ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn.

DIGIHEALS proposal submissions should be through the Scaling Health Applications Research for Everyone broad agency announcement. Multiple awards for the project are anticipated, with resources available to depend on the proposals’ quality and funds available.