The Mitigation Guide tailored specifically for the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector has been released by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). It aims to provide defensive mitigation strategies and best practices to counteract prevalent cyber-threats targeting critical infrastructure in the healthcare domain.

Emphasizing the important of vulnerability management, the guide defines it as the continuous identification, assessment and remediation of cyber vulnerabilities in software and systems. Organizations are encouraged to conduct regular vulnerability scans, prioritize assets based on criticality, and leverage threat intelligence to address actively exploited vulnerabilities. The guide also provides a step-by-step vulnerability management lifecycle, guiding entities from identification to improvement.

Additionally, the document highlights the significance of configuration and change management (CCM) in conjunction with established vulnerability and patch management solutions. HPH entities are urged to implement security configuration management to identify and rectify misconfigurations in default system settings.

In a move towards a more secure future, CISA co-authored and published “Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Secure by Design Software” on April 13. This publication advocates for a paradigm shift in technology product development, urging manufacturers to prioritize security in the design and development phase rather than relying on post-deployment patches.

The guide also concludes with a focus on HPH sector vulnerability remediation guidance, providing tables outlining prioritized vulnerabilities along with remediation and compensating control recommendations. It is recommended that HPH entities diligently track and prioritize vulnerabilities based on their internal network architecture and risk posture.

These new guidelines are intended to serve as a vital resource for the HPH sector, offering actionable insights to enhance cybersecurity defenses against potential threats. For a detailed understanding of prioritized vulnerabilities and remediation guidance, readers are encouraged to refer directly to the published Mitigation Guide.

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