Bill bolstering healthcare cybersecurity advanced by Senate panel

CyberScoop reports that the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee has passed the bipartisan Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act, which would revamp the Department of Health and Human Services' cybersecurity measures.

The HHS would not only be mandated to develop a comprehensive incident response plan that will be reviewed by Congress but also coordinate with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in overseeing the public health and healthcare sectors, according to the legislation, which is sponsored by committee Chai Bill Cassidy, R-La., as well as Sens. Maggie Hasan, D-N.H., Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Cornyn, R-Texas. The legislation contains clauses intended to improve cyber literacy among healthcare workers and establish cybersecurity guidelines for rural providers.

The Act would also establish the HHS' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response as the Sector Risk Management Agency for the Public Health and Healthcare sectors. Legislators, including Cassidy, cited the 2024 Change Healthcare breach as the primary catalyst for the bill, characterizing it as proof that ransomware organizations, cybercriminals, and nation-state actors continue to pose a threat to the healthcare industry.