The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have recommended measures for public and private sector organizations to protect data and infrastructure across the health care sector from targeted attacks.
CISA Cross-Functional Planning and Coordination Chief Sana Saleh and HHS Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center Chief Greg Singleton wrote in a joint blog entry posted Tuesday that heightened public awareness can reduce the impact of security incidents in the sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Both agencies urged the health care and public health sector to scan information technology networks regularly and fix vulnerabilities through patching, create an incident response plan for remote environments and modernize IT systems.
CISA and HHS also called on the government to craft standard operating procedures for state of emergency situations, establish federal-level disaster response roles and implement the Cyber Solarium Commission's appropriate recommendations.
The two agencies produced infographics about COVID-19 cybersecurity trends in the HPH sector.