"The Race to Make Hospitals Cybersecure"

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) detected 623 ransomware incidents in member states between May 2021 and June 2022. Healthcare was the fifth most targeted industry, which has resulted in increased investment and technological innovation to secure the sector. Sabina Magalini, a surgery professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy, coordinated the EU-funded PANACEA project to enhance hospital cybersecurity. The project lasted 38 months through February 2022. Research conducted during PANACEA revealed that nurses frequently had to log in to computer systems over 80 times a day. This is time-consuming and leads to shortcuts, such as a group of individuals using the same password or passwords being written down on paper next to the computer. The study showed that hospital staff inadequately followed cybersecurity practices, exposing systems to exploitation by attackers. PANACEA developed methods to facilitate hospital staff compliance with cybersecurity precautions. For example, one of the contributions was software designed to make login systems more secure. Magalini noted that the software enables facial recognition of healthcare employees, reducing password issues. The project also experimented with low-tech substitutes, such as posting stickers and posters in hospitals to encourage healthcare employees to adhere to basic cybersecurity practices. This article continues to discuss EU-funded research aimed at improving the cybersecurity of hospitals.

The European Commission reports "The Race to Make Hospitals Cybersecure"