45 The health sector has been one of the most vulnerable sectors to cyber attacks globally in recent years, and this pressing topic continues to capture public attention worldwide. Implications of cyber attacks for this sectormay be severe (or even fatal) in terms of human life. Health organizations may have to deal with growing threats, with limited resources to defend themselves. Due to a cyber incident occured in a hospital in Israel by the end of 2021, and steps taken by state autoritities, this topic has also led to developments in Israel in recent months, including on cybersecurity regulation and sectoral standards, as would briefly described below. On October 2021, Hillel Yaffe hospital in Israel had been a target to a major ransomeware attack. As reported, although the hospital apparently kept operating as usual (except for unurgent surgeries) and critical equipment kept working as usual, the hospital had been reportedly using alternate systems for its treatments, including writing patients’ information down by hand1. In a conference hosted by the hospital and the Ministry of Health in June 2022, it has been revealed that the costs of the incident had reached 36 million NIS (approx. 11 million USD), to cover the reconstruction of the hospitals’ information and communication technology systems, the technicians hired for the mission, loss of revenue, delays in elective medical treatments etc.2 The 1 https://hy.health.gov.il/eng/?CategoryID=23&ArticleID=891 2 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/hillel-yaffe-hospital-targeted-by-ransomware-attack-681842 https://www.calcalist.co.il/calcalistech/article/hkdxk9kt9 Cybersecurity in the Health Sector – The Way Forward Adv. Vered Zlaikha, Partner, Head of Cyber Affairs & Artificial Intelligence, Lipa Meir & Co.
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