U.S. and other allied nations’ cybersecurity agencies urged software vendors to implement secure design practices and organizations to implement a centralized patch management system and apply timely patches, noting that malicious actors in 2022 most often targeted known vulnerabilities. 

John Riggi, AHA’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said, “When it comes to technical exploitation of computer networks, this very useful is alert shows that cyber adversaries most often take the simplest and most efficient route to attack computer networks. When the opportunity presents itself, they exploit unpatched, well known internet-facing vulnerabilities. They simply ‘hack before we patch.’ Vulnerability management is a challenge in any organization, especially in health care, where we are often dependent upon third-party technology and medical device manufacturers to issue and deploy patches. Due diligence is required to ensure all available patches have been prioritized and implemented, especially those that are highly critical and may impact patient care and safety directly.”    

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.

Related News Articles

Headline
In part one of a new blog, John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, and Scott Gee, AHA deputy national advisor for cybersecurity and risk,…
Perspective
Public
This week, the FBI issued an urgent warning to all users — including hospitals — of a critical security soft spot within Oracle’s E-Business Suite, stating “…
Headline
The Health Sector Coordinating Council Oct. 7 released its Sector Mapping and Risk Toolkit, created to help health care providers and other organizations…
AHA Cyber Intel
As of Oct. 3, 2025, 364 hacking incidents had been reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, affecting over 33…
Headline
The AHA Oct. 6 released a Cybersecurity Advisory urging immediate action against a critical Oracle E-Business Suite vulnerability that is remotely exploitable…
Headline
The AHA has launched an enhanced Cybersecurity and Risk webpage designed to help health care organizations strengthen their defenses against emerging cyber and…