The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency along with international agencies May 14 released guidance for high-risk nonprofit and other resource-constrained community organizations to assist in understanding and mitigating cyberthreats.
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Hospitals and health systems nationwide saw a sizable increase in delayed or missing payments in first quarter 2024, according to a report released May 10 by Strata on health care performance trends.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center May 10 released a joint cybersecurity advisory to provide information on Black Basta, a ransomware variant whose actors have encrypted and stolen data from at least 12 out of 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including the health care and public health sector.
The Department of Justice May 7 announced more than two dozen criminal charges against Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, 31, of Voronezh, Russia, for his alleged role as the creator, developer and administrator of the LockBit ransomware group.
The AHA and other national hospital groups May 8 sent a letter to UnitedHealth Group, urging the organization to formally accept responsibility for issuing breach notifications on behalf of providers or customers following cyberattacks if protected health information or personally identifiable information is stolen.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency May 3 extended the comment period to July 3 for the April 4 proposed rule that would implement cyber incident and ransom payment reporting requirements under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022.
White House releases critical infrastructure memo empowering CISA to strengthen health care security
The Biden Administration April 30 released a memo announcing updated critical infrastructure protection requirements, which include the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency acting as the National Coordinator for Security and Resilience.
The FBI, State Department and National Security Agency issued a warning about attempts by North Korean state-sponsored cyberthreat actors to exploit improperly configured domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance record policies to conceal social engineering attempts.
Senate and House lawmakers May 1 grilled UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty about the continued fallout from the Feb. 22 cyberattack on Change Healthcare — the most significant and consequential cyberattack on the U.S. health care system in American history.
“If you are asking yourself how a cyberattack on a single company could cause such massive damage, you are asking the right question,” an AHA advertorial in April 30's Washington Post, states. “The answer, however, is stunningly simple. Over the past several years, Change Healthcare’s corporate owner, UnitedHealth Group, has acquired so many companies and spread its tentacles so far throughout the healthcare system that it has become ‘too big to fail.’”
The AHA April 29 provided the Senate Committee on Finance and House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations an update regarding outstanding issues continuing to impact patients and hospitals following the Change Healthcare cyberattack, as well as additional actions for Congress and the Administration to consider related to the cybersecurity of the health care sector.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights April 19 launched a webpage answering HIPAA-related FAQs about the Change Healthcare cyberattack.
In a statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for a hearing April 17 on President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 Health and Human Services’ budget request, AHA expressed concern about proposed new penalties for hospitals and health systems that do not meet what the Administration defines as essential cybersecurity practices.
Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm addressed AHA Annual Membership Meeting attendees about the Administration’s work to improve access to care and increase the number of people with health insurance, as well as the Change Healthcare cyberattack and what cybersecurity looks like in the future.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., addressed attendees of AHA’s 2024 Annual Membership Meeting and touched on many of the biggest issues in health care: cybersecurity; prior authorization and denials of care; extensions for expiring telehealth provisions; and how government and hospitals can work together to find solutions to these and other problems.
Testifying April 16 before a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on addressing health care cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the wake of the Change Healthcare attack, AHA shared proposals and concerns for Congress and the Administration to consider.
Two Administration officials April 14 discussed how the federal government is working with hospitals and other parts of the health care sector to defend against cyber threats and mitigate cyberatta
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., expressed to AHA members frustration with the Change Healthcare cyberattack, which he believes jeopardized patients and their personal data.
The Change Healthcare cyberattack was a significant event that caught many off guard, said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, reiterating the age