Dive Brief:
- Following a warning from the federal government about the potential for Russian cyberattacks, the nation's hospital lobby is urging facilities to take immediate steps to prepare for possible disruption.
- The nation's cyber defense agency warned of potential threats in the wake of U.S. sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
- In its warning, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said there are no "specific or credible cyber threats" but that every organization, large and small, "must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity."
Dive Insight:
The American Hospital Association is especially concerned after some hospitals were collateral damage when Russia targeted Ukraine in a 2017 attack that quickly spilled beyond Ukraine, wreaking havoc across the globe in what some have described as the worst cyberattack in history, known as NotPetya.
In its latest cybersecurity advisory to hospitals, AHA laid out three main areas of concern. It's worried hospitals and health systems will be directly targeted by Russia or become inadvertent victims of malware or ransomware. Third, AHA said it's worried about a cyberattack that could "disrupt hospitals' mission-critical service providers."
AHA said it is closely monitoring the situation, according to a recent statement. "The threat situation remains tense and may evolve rapidly as sanctions are imposed and Russia responds," John Riggi, AHA's national adviser for cybersecurity and risk, said in a statement.
AHA urged facilities to be on the look out for increased and unusual network traffic or activity. And it encouraged leaders to warn staff about the increased risk of phishing emails, in addition to a handful of other suggestions.