The US government has partnered with Microsoft and Google to offer free and low-cost resources to rural hospitals. Cooperation includes strengthening cyber defense in these healthcare institutions.
According to a June 10 White House press release, Microsoft, through its non-profit program, will provide subsidies and discounts of up to 75% on security products to independent critical access hospitals and rural hospitals. emergency. .
Microsoft will also provide an upgrade that benefits the largest rural hospitals that already use eligible Microsoft solutions. Thus, they will receive the most advanced security package, at no additional cost, for one year. Microsoft’s package of measures includes free cybersecurity assessments and training for frontline and IT professionals, as well as extending Windows 10 security updates for a year at no cost.
Google, for its part, is providing free endpoint security training to rural hospitals and nonprofit organizations, and will fund support for software migration. Google announced the launch of a pilot program to develop a customized suite of security features for rural hospitals.
The efforts announced by the White House aim to increase the security and resilience of the health sector, in a recent scenario of an exponential increase in cyberattacks. In the USA alone, attacks against the healthcare system increased by 128% between 2022 and 2023, but it was in February and March 2024 that the most serious attacks in the history of the sector occurred in the country.