By HFT Staff

The Department of Health and Human Services released voluntary Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) for the sector, which include 10 “essential” and 10 “enhanced" goals. The healthcare CPGs are based on multiple cybersecurity frameworks and directly address common attack vectors against U.S. domestic hospitals as identified in the 2023 Hospital Cyber Resiliency Landscape Analysis. The American Hospital Association (AHA) provided input on the resiliency report and the draft goals as a member of the Health Sector Coordinating Council’s Cybersecurity Working Group.

“America’s hospitals and health systems are dedicated to protecting their patients and workforce against cyberattacks that can disrupt patient care and erode privacy by the loss of personal healthcare data,” says Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “To that end, the AHA supports voluntary consensus-based cybersecurity practices, such as those announced by the Department of Health and Human Services. These cybersecurity performance goals are targeted at defending against the most common tactics used by cyber adversaries to attack healthcare and related third parties, such as exploitation of known technical vulnerabilities, phishing emails and stolen credentials. We recommend that all components of the healthcare sector implement these practices including third-party technology providers and business associates.”