Congressman Bennie G. Thompson Announces New Program to Help Rural Hospitals Defend Against Rising Cybersecurity Attacks 

Bolton, MS – Today, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS02) announced a new cybersecurity program, provided by Microsoft, that will support Greenwood Leflore and Sharkey Issaquena Hospitals in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District and better help protect them from cyberattacks. Today’s news was announced in close collaboration with the hospitals, the White House, the American Hospital Association, and the National Rural Health Association.  

This new Microsoft Cybersecurity Program for Rural Hospitals will deliver a range of cybersecurity training, support, and technology services for rural hospitals, available starting today. In 2023, the healthcare sector reported more ransomware attacks than any other critical infrastructure sector, and attacks involving ransomware against the healthcare sector were up 128%. According to the National Rural Health Association, rural health clinics are one of the top targets for cyberattacks.

“We are now one step closer to ensuring that residents of Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District receive the same high-quality care available throughout the rest of the state,” said Congressman Thompson.

Key Britt, Greenwood Leflore Hospital VP of Administrative Services stated, “Greenwood Leflore Hospital is constantly fending off cyber threats, both internally and externally. This is becoming increasingly difficult as threat actor tactics and techniques increase in sophistication and are enhanced with machine learning and artificial intelligence. Our cyber security posture is further diminished by a lack of staffing. It has proven extremely difficult to hire staff with the appropriate technical skillset to help protect our technical environment. With that being said, the Greenwood Leflore Hospital Technical Services department would be extremely grateful to Congressman Thompson for helping us participate in the Microsoft Cyber Program. This would allow us to augment our I.T. staff with software and hardware, thus, greatly minimizing our attack surface.”

“Rural hospitals such as Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital have a vital role in providing the necessary care and services in local communities.  We have many challenges - with the rising risk of cyber-attacks being a critical concern.  We need additional support to guard our systems and patient data.  We are grateful for this new program, which will bring cybersecurity training and services to our hospital, and to Representative Thompson for his support commented,” Mr. Jerry Keever, CEO of Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital.

As part of the new program, Microsoft will offer free Windows 10 security updates to participating rural hospitals for at least one year and a free cybersecurity assessment and training to help evaluate the day-to-day risks. For independent Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Emergency Hospitals, Microsoft will also provide nonprofit pricing and discounts on its security products, optimized for smaller organizations, with up to 75% savings. Additionally, larger rural hospitals already using eligible Microsoft solutions will receive the company’s most advanced security suite at no cost for one year.

Microsoft’s cybersecurity support program for rural hospitals in the United States is immediately available. To learn more, please visithttps://aka.ms/Microsoft_Security_Rural_Hospitals.