The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday a new action plan on cybersecurity for the healthcare sector, one of Ursula von der Leyen’s key priorities for the beginning of her second term as president of the Commission.
The action plan is another program that will complement the already announced European Health Data Space (EHDS) that will further digitalise healthcare across the bloc. The new project on cybersecurity will have four priorities: prevention, identification, response and deterrence.
Each priorities will be implemented over the course of 2025 and 2026, asking for a coordination and cooperation between the member states and cybersecurity actors, including ENISA, the EU agency specialised on the issue. ENISA will monitor progress on the action plan and inform the Commission and relevant groups during the various phases. Plus, ENISA will set up a support centre for the healthcare sector that will help hospitals and other actors in the field.
The Commission believes that it is crucial to invest in a common framework for cybersecurity to avoid potential risks as healthcare becomes more digitalised, with patient data available digitally.
“Prevention is better than cure, so we need to prevent cyber-attacks from happening. But if they happen, we need to have everything in place to detect them and to quickly respond and recover,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
Data from the Commission showed that in 2023 there were 309 significant cybersecurity incidents in the sector across the EU, the highest of any critical sector, making the case that a programme on the issue was needed.
“Digitalisation is only as strong as the trust it inspires and resilient from cyberattacks. Patients must feel confident that their most sensitive information is secure. Healthcare professionals must have faith in the systems they use daily to save lives,” commented Oliver Varhelyi, the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare.
