Beyond Security Patches—Fundamental Incentive Problems in Health Care Cybersecurity

Genevieve P Kanter,I Glenn Cohen,Jack Kufahl

doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.2969

Abstract

Beyond Security Patches—Fundamental Incentive Problems in Health Care Cybersecurity

Highlights

With ransomware attacks targeting critical US infrastructure, hospitals and health systems are under serious threat
Health systems will take a financial hit from lost revenues caused by their inability to deliver care, which totaled $20.8 billion in 2020 alone.[4]
In the wake of recent critical infrastructure attacks, the White House has begun to characterize these attacks as a national security threat. This shift from viewing ransomware attacks as isolated incidents caused by inadequate security efforts of individual organizations to a systemic issue is welcome

Summary

Introduction

With ransomware attacks targeting critical US infrastructure, hospitals and health systems are under serious threat. They require “covered entities”—organizations delivering health care, such as health systems, hospitals, and physician practices—as well as their business associates to take measures to protect against the unauthorized disclosure of PHI (eg, names, medical histories, diagnoses).

Results

Conclusion