CyberScoop reports that bipartisan House lawmakers have introduced the new Healthcare Cybersecurity Act, which moves to strengthen the security of U.S. healthcare data, following the approval of a similar bill by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Such legislation, led by Reps. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would mandate collaboration between the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services in the development of cyber defense measures and resources for the healthcare industry. Improved cyber threat information sharing and cybersecurity training tool development have also been deemed necessary under the bill after widespread healthcare provider disruptions stemming from the recent attack against UnitedHealthGroup's payment processing subsidiary Change Healthcare. "By providing new resources for cybersecurity risk training and fortifying our cybersecurity protections nationwide, our bipartisan legislation takes decisive action to safeguard our healthcare systems and protect lives," said Fitzpatrick.