As the U.S. awakens to the fact that its health care system is particularly vulnerable to attacks from hackers, lawmakers are pushing a bill to designate a point person on cybersecurity at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The legislation has bipartisan backers. Reps. Billy Long, R-MO, and Doris Matsui, D-CA, are the chief sponsors.
"We've developed a thoughtful solution to improve cybersecurity at HHS, based on committee findings," the two lawmakers said in a joint statement. "This legislation is a critical step toward safeguarding the delicate information countless Americans have entrusted in HHS' hands."
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The bill appears largely uncontroversial, but it is unclear whether it will be moved quickly through Congress.
Hospitals across the country have been fending off increasingly frequent hacking attempts in recent years. While the great majority of cyberattacks are blocked, the ones that are successful can render hospitals utterly helpless. In one prominent case in February, a California hospital paid a ransom to anonymous hackers in order to regain control of its computer system.
HHS' own systems have also been successfully targeted by hackers. The agency admitted in August that five of its divisions had been compromised by cyberattacks in the past three years.
The agency has made clear that it takes the problem seriously, and last month announced the formation of the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force.
"People should be able to easily and securely access their electronic health information and send it to any desired location," said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell recently. "They need to be able to understand how their information can be shared and used. And they must be assured that this information will be effectively and safely used to benefit their health and that of their community."
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