A New Year, a Renewed Approach: Upgrading Healthcare's Cybersecurity for Tomorrow

As the calendar year closes, it's a critical moment for reflection—and, more importantly, a firm commitment to progress in the year ahead. In healthcare, a glaring vulnerability continues to cast a shadow: our cybersecurity rulebook is dangerously obsolete and the growing number of breaches and security incidents in the industry indicate the lack of progress.

For over a decade, the healthcare sector has not seen any major update to security requirements since the HIPAA Omnibus Rule of 2013. The core of today's privacy and cybersecurity requirements—the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules—were forged in the early 2000s. This framework predates the modern technological landscape, created before the era of ubiquitous mobile devices, massive cloud adoption, remote work, evolving home care models, social media, and most recently the rapid ascent of AI. Simply put, our foundational regulatory structure no longer aligns with technology evolution and neither with the cyber-threats of today, let alone the emerging challenges of the new year.

While we've seen promising steps in one area, with medical device manufacturers facing raised security requirements for their products (via FDA Guidances), the focus must now shift to the organizations delivering care. Using the New York hospital cybersecurity requirements as an example, states are beginning to fill the federal regulatory gap by implementing stringent standards that are predicted to raise the security bar nationwide.

This is where hope for a more resilient future lies. The proposed Health Care Cybersecurity Resiliency Act of 2025 may very well become the industry’s crucial New Year's resolution. If enacted, this legislation would finally raise the bar on hospital operators, mandating improved security postures and greater transparency. This move would mirror the progressive standards already established in Europe, where laws like KRITIS in Germany have introduced stringent security requirements for care delivery organizations. 

The coming year must be one defined by proactive defense. By adopting a modern regulatory foundation, we can finally move beyond our outdated operating system and build a secure, resilient healthcare system ready for the challenges of the future. 

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