Health Care Group Puts Focus on Current Cybersecurity Efforts

The health care industry is joining other businesses in urging Congress and federal officials to consider existing cybersecurity efforts before enacting new measures to better protect American computer networks. Congress is expected to revisit cybersecurity legislation before the end of the year and the White House is considering an executive order on the issue.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) helped sponsor legislation that would have created more government oversight of certain critical networks, including those that control electric grids. After that bill floundered in the Senate partly because of industry opposition to new rules, Rockefeller wrote to leaders of Fortune 500 companies asking for their views on cybersecurity. The Healthcare Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST), which represents information security officers at the nation's largest health care organizations, outlined efforts to share information and collaborate to increase cybersecurity.