The Department of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, through the Andalusian Digital Agency (ADA), and the technological company Fujitsu have signed a specific agreement to develop actions aimed at promoting the socio-health cybersecurity ecosystem in the Andalusian community. The overall goal of this collaboration is to position Malaga, home to the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center (CIAN), as a national and international reference in knowledge, research, and innovation in cybersecurity applied to the healthcare and social assistance fields, with a special focus on security in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and advanced telecare devices.
Thanks to this partnership, research in the field of cybersecurity will be promoted to identify regulatory needs and proposals, sets of best practices, and deployment, monitoring, and analysis methodologies to provide an appropriate response to the risks posed by the implementation of disruptive or novel technologies in the socio-health field. For example, the impact of the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence or quantum computing systems in health on cybersecurity will be analyzed to identify potential attack points and impacts on the socio-health system to implement defense lines that can anticipate incidents.
Antonio Sanz has emphasized that «these types of alliances are more necessary than ever, especially in the face of increasing threats, making it essential for healthcare centers, hospitals, social centers, and the receiving public of advanced telecare services through specific devices to have specific security mechanisms, as well as specialization that provides them with robustness and adaptability.»
Among the research lines to be developed are ethical hacking and pentesting tests on IoMT and telecare devices, for which active collaboration with manufacturers and a group of academic experts in this field will be encouraged to promote an industry specializing in cybersecurity and operational technology for the socio-health sector.
Collaboration is proposed with the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center, the Fujitsu International Quantum Center, the Technology for People Chair in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Supercomputing at the University of Granada, the Cybersecurity Chair at the University of Malaga, and other organizations, entities, or groups that can contribute to them to develop different research lines.
The results of these investigations and the information generated will be accessible to socio-health organizations, both public and private, and manufacturers of electromedical and telecare devices, to help them generate new products and services that meet cybersecurity standards. In line with this, the proposal includes collaboration in training and certification programs for scientific and technical skills for students in technological degrees in the Andalusian university system.
The agreement between ADA and Fujitsu will last for two years and will have a joint contribution of 738,000 euros. Framed within the ‘Cibersecurity Retech, Red Argos Project,’ this agreement develops and specifies the General Protocol of action already signed between the Junta and the technological company in November 2023 to promote the socio-health cybersecurity ecosystem in Andalusia and position Malaga as a hub of knowledge and talent attraction on cybersecurity in the socio-health field. Through this agreement, Fujitsu aligns its strategy with that of the Junta, maintaining its commitment to constant investment that generates quality employment and contributes to the progress and well-being of Andalusians.
IV Cybersecurity Congress
Cybersecurity has become an imperative need in a critical sector such as healthcare or social assistance. Protecting patients and their data, minimizing cyber risk, and complying with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements are more important than ever. All these challenges will be addressed at the fourth edition of the Andalusian Cybersecurity Congress, to be held in the city of Malaga on April 2 and 3, with a special emphasis on the orientations outlined in the European Action Plan to strengthen the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers, launched by the European Commission last year to create a safer and more protected environment for patients.
This fourth edition of the Congress, under the theme ‘Protecting data, saving lives,’ will focus particularly on initiatives that apply cybersecurity to health, an area where information protection is fundamental given the especially sensitive nature of the data being handled.
FUENTE