In an increasingly digital world, blood centers face a new and formidable challenge: sophisticated cyberattacks.
Blood centers are the lifeblood of our nation's healthcare system, ensuring a safe and sufficient blood supply for patients in need. These vital organizations serve our health care system, supporting everything from routine surgeries to emergency trauma responses.
Yet, in an increasingly digital world, blood centers face a new and formidable challenge: sophisticated cyberattacks. Recent incidents have exposed the vulnerability of these critical institutions to malicious actors, with potentially devastating consequences:
Disruptions to blood collection and distribution processes
Cancelation of elective surgeries and delays in non-emergency patient care due to diminished blood supplies
Significant financial losses and operational setbacks
The Ripple Effect: A National Security Concern
The impact of a successful cyberattack on a single blood center extends far beyond local communities. As other blood providers step in to meet patient needs, the entire national blood supply chain can be strained, creating a domino effect that threatens healthcare delivery across the country.
The Call to Congress
By investing in the cyber resilience of our blood community today, we can ensure the continued availability of life-saving blood products for all Americans tomorrow:
To address this urgent issue, we are urging Congress to robustly find the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to allow them to continue to support blood centers.