White House and South Carolina launch free cybersecurity pilot for rural hospitals
On Oct. 26 the Office of the National Cyber Director and HHS launched Project Lifeline 250 with South Carolina's critical infrastructure cybersecurity initiative. It is a six-month pilot offering rural hospitals free cybersecurity help, with industry partners including Cisco, Cyera, Microsoft, Trellix and Zscaler. It follows a July cyberattack on South Carolina health system AnMed that disrupted access to records for weeks. Officials did not name participating hospitals or say how many will take part.
Why it's notable: Small rural hospitals often lack security staff and budget, and attacks can force them onto paper records. The pilot is a federal test of a template that could be extended to other states.