MITRE Launches Critical Infrastructure, Public Health Data Orgs

MITRE recently launched two new innovation organizations within MITRE Labs that focus on improving cybersecurity across critical infrastructure and confronting public health data challenges.

MITRE Labs was established in 2020 with the goal of tackling some of today’s biggest security challenges through federally funded research and development scenters.

The Cyber Infrastructure Protection Innovation Center will kickstart collaboration between the public and private sectors to protect critical infrastructure, including industrial control systems, operational technology, and cyber-physical systems.

“As seen with recent attacks on the Colonial Pipeline and a Florida water treatment plant, nation states and criminal groups are increasingly targeting the operators of our critical systems with potentially devastating cyberattacks,” George Roelke, acting director of the Cyber Infrastructure Protection Innovation Center, explained in the announcement.

“As critical infrastructure is primarily in the hands of the private sector, our new Cyber Infrastructure Protection Innovation Center will work across industry and government to better understand cyber threats and identify practical steps to make their operations more secure. We can work together to address the safety, regulatory, and national security issues that will make our society more resilient.”

In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack that disrupted thousands of miles of the United States fuel supply chain, President Biden issued an executive order on improving the nation’s cybersecurity. The federal government sought support from private and public sector entities to combat critical infrastructure security issues.

In late July, President Biden issued a National Security Memorandum outlining cybersecurity expectations for critical infrastructure entities.

Many ransomware gangs claim to be morally opposed to attacking critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. However, profitability tends to win over morality for cybercriminals, and the healthcare sector in particular has been hit hard by cyberattacks in recent years. 

The Clinical Insights Innovation Cell will similarly bring together private and public sector leaders to collaborate on innovations in clinical and data science leadership and advanced artificial intelligence approaches in relation to clinical trials.

The cell’s team of data scientists, physicians, and informaticists aim to change how clinical trials are performed in the US and make health systems more resilient in the process. Medical data is crucial to any clinical trial’s success, but ensuring that the data is properly deidentified and adequately protects patient privacy is a significant hurdle.

“Harnessing the research potential of medical data creates infinite opportunities to build a safer, healthier, and more resilient society,” Brian Anderson, MD, chief digital health physician at MITRE and senior manager for the innovation cell.

“We look forward to collaborating with public and private sector innovators to develop the platforms and solutions that tackle today’s most critical health challenges."

The cell will focus on health standards, interoperability efforts, clinical trial research innovation, digital health policy, epidemiology, and public health.

The two new innovation organizations will join 15 other MITRE Labs organizations, including the Health Innovation Center, which aims to improve health policy, health communications, and regulatory innovation.