America needs a "cyber dome" to protect against the increasing number of cyberattacks that are plaguing healthcare, according to nine former HHS and Veterans Affairs secretaries.
"Such a dome would provide an invisible layer of advanced protection technology to prevent cyberattacks rather than physical assaults," they wrote July 22 in U.S. News & World Report. "It could be implemented by all entities that collect, store and use patient care data."
Citing the recent hacks of Change Healthcare and St. Louis-based Ascension, the former leaders said healthcare needs a cybersecurity version of Operation Warp Speed, which helped quickly develop vaccines for COVID-19. The new public-private partnership would "lead to the rapid deployment of digital infrastructure to track threats online, anticipate cyberassaults and prevent as many of them as possible," they wrote, including by pre-funding at least eight promising cybersecurity technology ideas.
A variety of approaches should be on the table, including artificial intelligence-powered autonomous threat detection and response systems that continuously configure themselves to block malware, the leaders wrote. "Cloud encryption technologies can help identify and prevent unauthorized attempts to exfiltrate data, and secure access service edge protocols can let providers and patients access data securely," they added.
"We believe in the vital necessity of creating a cyber dome to stop healthcare system hackers before any further damage is done," the former HHS and VA chiefs wrote. "Collectively, we can build the solutions and deploy them at a nationwide scale. No less than our health, safety and prosperity depend on it."