The Ministry of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, through the Digital Agency of Andalusia (ADA), and the technological company Fujitsu have signed a specific agreement to develop actions aimed at promoting the socio-sanitary cybersecurity ecosystem in the Andalusian community. The overall goal of this collaboration is to make Malaga, home to the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center (CIAN), a national and international reference in knowledge, research, and innovation in cybersecurity applied to the health and social care sector, with special attention to security in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and advanced teleassistance devices.
Thanks to this partnership, research will be promoted in the field of cybersecurity to identify regulatory needs and proposals, sets of best practices, and deployment, monitoring, and analysis methodologies, in order to provide an appropriate response to the risks posed by the implementation of disruptive or novel technologies in the socio-sanitary field. For example, the impact of the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence or quantum computing systems in healthcare on cybersecurity will be analyzed to identify potential points of attack and impact on the socio-sanitary system to implement defense lines that can anticipate incidents.
Antonio Sanz emphasized that «these types of partnerships are more necessary than ever today, especially in the face of increasing threats, making it necessary for healthcare centers, hospitals, social centers, and the receiving public of advanced teleassistance 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 teleassistance devices, for which active collaboration will be carried out with their manufacturers, as well as with a group of academic experts in this field, in order to encourage an industry specialized in the development of cybersecurity and operational technology for the socio-sanitary sector.
For the development of the different research lines, collaboration with the Andalusian Cybersecurity Center, the International Quantum Center of Fujitsu, 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 is proposed.
The results of this research and the information generated will be accessible and will target socio-sanitary organizations, both public and private, and manufacturers of electromedical and teleassistance devices, in order to help them generate new products and services that meet cybersecurity standards. In line with this axis, the proposal includes collaboration in training and certification programs for scientific and technical skills for students in the technological degrees of 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 Regional Government and the technological company in November 2023 to promote the socio-sanitary cybersecurity ecosystem in Andalusia and turn Malaga into a hub of knowledge and talent attraction in cybersecurity in the socio-sanitary field. Through this agreement, Fujitsu aligns its strategy with that of the Regional Government, maintaining its commitment to a constant investment that generates quality employment and contributes to the progress and well-being of the Andalusians.
IV Cybersecurity Congress
Cybersecurity has become an urgent necessity in a critical sector such as healthcare or social care. Protecting patients and their data, minimizing cyber risk, and complying with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements is more important than ever. All these challenges will be addressed at the fourth edition of the Andalusian Cybersecurity Congress, which will take place in the city of Malaga on April 2 and 3, with a special emphasis on the guidelines 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 secure environment for patients.
This fourth edition of the Congress, under the slogan ‘Protecting data, saving lives’, will focus specifically on initiatives that apply cybersecurity to health, an area where information protection is essential given the particularly sensitive nature of the data being handled.
