The February cyberattack on Change Healthcare has led HHS to develop a map detailing the cybersecurity risks linked to the dominance of a single technology supplier, referred to as a single point of failure, The Wall Street Journal reported May 30.
Since the Change incident, cybersecurity experts have held meetings with HHS officials to identify single points of failure, Greg Garcia, executive director for cybersecurity at the Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council, a group that collaborates with the federal government on cybersecurity and provides policy advice, told the Journal.
According to Mr. Garcia, HHS officials have provided project participants with diagrams illustrating the connections among companies within the healthcare supply chain. He said the project may ultimately identify companies as critical "chokepoints" within the sector.
Mr. Garcia emphasized that this initiative aims to assist the government and healthcare companies in establishing objectives to tackle cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
"That's just going to bring greater attention across the industry as to what we need to do," he said.
For example, if the map could identify technologies essential for healthcare operations and identify service providers, it could enable health systems to enhance emergency and outage preparedness, according to Mr. Garcia.
HHS did not respond to the Journal's request for comment.