HHS urges health care entities to patch new Windows vulnerabilities

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response strongly recommends that all health care and public health entities consider patching as soon as possible several new critical vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Windows operating systems. “This recommendation is based on the likelihood of the vulnerabilities being weaponized, combined with the widespread use of the affected software across the sector and high potential for a compromise of integrity and confidentiality of information,” ASPR’s Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection said yesterday in a bulletin to the sector. For more on the vulnerabilities and recommended actions, see the alert from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. For more information on this or other cybersecurity issues, contact John Riggi, AHA senior advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at jriggi@aha.org.