New Initiative Provides Rural Hospitals with Free Cybersecurity Assistance
Rural hospitals across the country are experiencing severe financial challenges that are putting them at risk of closure. An analysis by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform published on October 28 shows that one-third of rural hospitals are on the precipice and may be forced to close due to severe financial problems. In most states, that percentage is more than 25%, while in 11 states it is 50% or more. Given the financial pressures, cybersecurity improvements are low on the list of priorities.
In order to make vital improvements to cybersecurity, rural hospitals need financial assistance. One bill that promises to make funds available to rural hospitals and other low-resource healthcare providers to upgrade cybersecurity is the Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act, which was recently unanimously passed by the Senate. The bill calls for grants to be made available to underserved healthcare providers to implement modern cybersecurity best practices and make it harder for hackers to breach their networks. The bill now awaits a vote by the House of Representatives.
New initiatives have been launched in recent weeks to harden cybersecurity across critical infrastructure sectors, with one promising free cybersecurity resources for rural hospitals. Project Lifeline 250 is a joint federal, state, and private sector initiative that was launched this month in South Carolina as a 6-month pilot. Under this initiative, rural hospitals will be provided with free products and services to help them improve cyber resilience.
Under this initiative, several IT and cybersecurity companies have agreed to help rural hospitals to improve their defenses and protect patient services in the event of a cyberattack. A similar initiative, Project Watershed 250, was announced in August and seeks to evaluate cybersecurity solutions and improve cyber resilience in the water and wastewater sector, first in Texas, and subsequently nationwide.
Project Lifeline 250 private sector partners include Cisco, Cyera, Microsoft, Trellix, Zscaler, and several other IT and cybersecurity firms. They have agreed to offer certain products and services free of charge to rural hospitals. They include services to help hospitals identify vulnerabilities, such as high-risk medical devices in critical care settings, better protect vulnerable legacy systems, and provide backup devices to allow them to continue to maintain critical services in the event of a cybersecurity incident.
The aim of the pilots is to evaluate cybersecurity solutions that can be scaled to protect critical infrastructure in communities across the United States. “Project Lifeline 250 connects the world-leading American industry with rural hospitals and uses the greatest American tools and capabilities to defend hospital networks; deploy physical back up devices after an initial incident to ensure an impacted hospital can still provide critical care; and identify high-risk and legacy devices and replace them,” said White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross. President Trump and his entire Administration remain committed to strengthening and modernizing facilities and technology and deploying innovative care models that bring high-quality health services to rural communities nationwide.”
