by Maximiliano Crocamo
Interviews: Lilia Fredella, Police Commissioner (Questore) of Trieste; Antonio Poggiana, Director General of the Giuliano Isontina University Health Authority (ASUGI)
Italian police and the Giuliano Isontina University Health Authority (ASUGI) have signed a cybersecurity cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening the protection of sensitive health data and the digital systems used by the region’s healthcare network.
The agreement comes amid growing concern over cybercrime, following a recent attack that exposed the personal data of millions of passengers at three airports in the United Kingdom.
Lilia Fredella, Trieste’s police commissioner, said the protocol is part of a nationwide initiative adopted with healthcare providers across Italy. It focuses on joint training, shared emergency response procedures, rapid communication during cyber incidents, and the reporting of vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Officials said there is no evidence of a specific threat targeting ASUGI, but warned that healthcare infrastructure remains a frequent target for both criminal hackers and large-scale international cyberattacks, adding that human error remains the leading cause of successful breaches, citing outdated passwords, neglected software updates, and unsafe links as common vulnerabilities.
While patients’ electronic health records are already protected through an existing partnership between the regional technology company Insiel and the police, the new agreement extends security efforts to the internal digital systems used by healthcare employees.
