The White House advisory board, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, has urged the federal government to create new economic incentive programs and develop liability protections to enhance cybersecurity standards among critical infrastructure owners and operators. The recommendations stem from a report highlighting the failure of market forces to sufficiently motivate private entities to prioritize cybersecurity, the lack of awareness of existing federal support programs, and the complex regulatory landscape that burdens stakeholders in critical infrastructure. The report suggests implementing financial incentives like tax deductions and grants, educating stakeholders on available federal cybersecurity services, and clarifying liability protections for information sharing on cyber threats. These measures aim to address the inconsistent adoption of cybersecurity best practices amid an increasingly threatening landscape, as underscored by recent warnings about foreign cyber threats to U.S. infrastructure.

White House advisory group says market forces ‘insufficient’ to drive cybersecurity in critical infrastructure CyberScoop

Beazley Security, the cybersecurity service arm of insurance giant Beazley, is expanding into the managed XDR (mXDR) sector, signaling potential competition for traditional technology vendors and MSSPs. This move follows the merger of Beazley's internal cyber team with Lodestone, enhancing its cybersecurity risk management offerings, which now include cybersecurity services coupled with insurance policies. Industry reactions are mixed, with some seeing this as a significant shift in the cyber insurance landscape, attributing to insurance companies' increasing involvement in cybersecurity through direct services such as vulnerability scans and endpoint security. Conversely, others deem it unlikely to disrupt the market significantly, citing limited customer understanding of such services and potential conflicts of interest. Despite skepticism, this development underlines a broader trend towards integrated cyber risk management solutions, highlighting the evolving roles of insurance companies in cybersecurity and the opportunities for MSSPs to collaborate closely with insurance providers.

Cyber Insurance Providers Offer Their Own MDR MSSP Alert

Medical care providers across the United States, ranging from urgent care chains to primary care physicians, are facing significant financial difficulties following a cyberattack that disrupted the country's largest medical billing and payment system, operated by Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group. This attack, which occurred two weeks ago, has left hundreds of providers unable to process insurance approvals and payments for services, leading to a cash squeeze that threatens their operations. In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced measures to alleviate financial pressures, including allowing Medicare reimbursements and urging health insurers to relax prior authorization rules. Despite these efforts, it is unclear whether these measures will fully bridge the operational and financial gaps caused by the still-offline services of Change Healthcare, a critical digital intermediary in the healthcare system.

Cyberattack Paralyzes the Largest U.S. Health Care Payment System New York Times

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced it will no longer charge customers for transferring their data out of its cloud ecosystem, a move following Google's earlier decision and in line with the European Data Act aimed at promoting competition among cloud providers by making it easier for customers to switch services or move data in-house. This change, which applies globally, represents a significant shift for AWS customers, especially larger companies needing to transfer volumes of data exceeding the previously free 100GB per month limit. AWS's announcement, made in response to competitive pressures and regulatory changes, suggests a broader industry trend toward eliminating data egress fees, with Microsoft anticipated to follow suit.

AWS follows Google in announcing unrestricted free data transfers to other cloud providers TechCrunch