Original Broadcast Date: 05/03/2026

Presented by Samdesk

Alicia Jackson, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), is focused on a clear and ambitious mission: driving healthcare breakthroughs in years, not decades. In her conversation on Fed Gov Today, she outlines how cybersecurity is becoming a central pillar of that mission, especially as the healthcare sector faces growing and increasingly complex threats.

Jackson explains that cybersecurity in healthcare spans a wide range of systems, from implanted medical devices like pacemakers to hospital networks and emerging AI-enabled tools. This broad attack surface makes the sector uniquely challenging to defend. At the same time, healthcare has historically lagged behind other industries such as national security and financial services when it comes to cybersecurity investment and capability.

One of the biggest issues, she notes, is the combination of legacy technology and modern, internet-connected devices. Hospitals often operate systems they may not fully understand or even know are on their networks. Compounding the problem is a lack of funding and cybersecurity expertise across many healthcare organizations. As a result, vulnerabilities persist, and in many cases, organizations are unaware of the full scope of their risk exposure.

Jackson points out that awareness is improving as cyberattacks—particularly ransomware incidents—become more frequent and visible. However, the reality remains that many hospitals still “don’t know what they don’t know,” especially when it comes to hidden vulnerabilities in legacy equipment and outdated operating systems.

To address these challenges, ARPA-H is developing programs designed to shift healthcare cybersecurity from a reactive to a proactive posture. One of the agency’s early efforts in this space is DigiHEALS, a program that brings together expertise from across government, academia, and industry. By recruiting talent with experience in national security cybersecurity—particularly from DARPA—ARPA-H is applying proven approaches to a new domain.

DigiHEALS focuses on identifying vulnerabilities across the healthcare ecosystem, including medical devices, electronic health record systems, and broader network infrastructure. The goal is to understand where weaknesses exist and develop tools to address them. Through this work, ARPA-H discovers that the problem is even more complex than initially expected. In some cases, efforts to patch vulnerabilities inadvertently introduce new ones, highlighting the need for more comprehensive and coordinated solutions.

One of the most innovative outcomes of this program is the development of a system known as the “crash cart.” Jackson describes it as a deployable capability that can be transported in a van and used to restore a hospital’s emergency department systems within 30 minutes after a cyberattack. This represents a dramatic improvement over current recovery timelines, which can stretch into weeks or even months.

The impact of such a capability is significant. When hospitals lose access to their systems, patient care is disrupted, and revenue streams are cut off because services cannot be billed. In severe cases, especially in rural areas, these disruptions can force hospitals to shut down entirely. The crash cart offers a way to quickly reestablish critical operations on a separate network, minimizing both clinical and financial damage.

Building on the insights gained from DigiHEALS, ARPA-H launches a second program called UPGRADE. This initiative takes a more comprehensive approach by creating digital twins of hospital networks. These virtual models map every connected device and system, providing a complete view of the network’s structure and vulnerabilities.

With this level of visibility, hospitals can identify weaknesses more effectively and implement fixes without disrupting ongoing operations. The ultimate goal is to scale this capability across the entire healthcare system, making advanced cybersecurity tools accessible to hospitals of all sizes. Jackson emphasizes that this represents a new level of capability for the sector, which has not previously had access to such comprehensive tools.

Artificial intelligence plays an important role in enabling these efforts. As Jackson notes, AI is critical for analyzing complex networks, identifying vulnerabilities, and supporting both defensive and offensive cybersecurity strategies. Its ability to process large amounts of data quickly makes it an essential component of modern cybersecurity solutions.

Underlying all of this work is ARPA-H’s unique operating model. The agency does not conduct research in its own labs. Instead, it relies on program managers to define challenges and bring together teams from academia, industry, and startups to develop solutions. This approach allows ARPA-H to tap into a wide range of expertise and rapidly scale promising ideas.

Jackson’s own experience at DARPA and in the private sector informs this model. She emphasizes the importance of moving quickly, taking risks, and focusing on high-impact outcomes. ARPA-H intentionally avoids bureaucracy in order to maintain speed and flexibility, recognizing that breakthroughs require both.

As the agency continues to mature, its strategy remains focused on staying lean and execution-driven. Success is measured not only by technological progress but also by the willingness to take risks, manage programs effectively, and pivot away from approaches that are not working.

Through these efforts, Jackson presents a vision for a more resilient healthcare system—one that can anticipate and withstand cyber threats rather than simply react to them. By combining advanced technology, innovative program design, and a focus on speed, ARPA-H is working to close a critical gap in the nation’s healthcare infrastructure.