White House backs cyber pilot to shield rural hospitals

Rilian has joined a pilot programme led by the White House Office of the National Cyber Director and South Carolina to protect rural hospitals from cyberattacks. The project also involves the US Department of Health and Human Services and South Carolina state agencies.

The initiative is part of Project Lifeline 250, a federal effort to strengthen cyber defences for rural healthcare systems. In South Carolina, the pilot is being carried out with Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Initiative.

Healthcare and public health was the most targeted critical infrastructure sector for cyber threats, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Centre's 2025 annual report, which recorded 642 cyber events. Rural hospitals are considered especially vulnerable because they often have fewer staff and more limited technical resources than larger urban systems.

The announcement ties the programme to recent incidents that disrupted hospital operations, including a cyberattack on a medical centre in Nebraska that forced it to shut down its computer network and delayed treatment. In rural areas, such attacks can have immediate operational consequences because hospitals may be the only nearby source of emergency and specialist care.

South Carolina Pilot

Project Lifeline 250 is intended to test technologies and operating models in selected locations before successful approaches are applied more widely. The South Carolina programme follows Project Watershed 250 in Texas, which focused on cyber protection for water and wastewater utilities.

Rilian will provide systems integration work and a command layer designed to bring together tools and intelligence feeds used in critical infrastructure defence. This work is centred on its Caspian platform, which is designed to combine telemetry, threat intelligence and automated workflows in one operating environment.

Rilian describes itself as an agentic systems integrator, reflecting its focus on software agents and automated orchestration in security operations. The South Carolina programme is aimed at both healthcare IT and the operational technology environments used by rural hospitals.

Christian Schnedler, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rilian, said the pilot reflected the pressure facing defenders in essential services.

"Rilian is proud to participate in this pilot program in South Carolina for Project Lifeline 250, securing healthcare and public health systems with agentic intelligence and a single command layer to protect vital access to rural healthcare," Schnedler said.

"Defenders across all industries are outnumbered, understaffed, and fighting a battle on multiple fronts that requires powerful, intelligent solutions to fight back. Rural hospitals are often the only lifeline for miles, and a single cyberattack can shut down emergency rooms, delay surgeries and put patients at risk," he said.

He added that the state and federal officials involved had moved early to address the issue.

"I commend each of the leaders here today for recognizing this threat early. Their foresight in securing these systems protects not just data, but lives, and sets an example for other states to follow," Schnedler said.

"Uniting with Director Cairncross, Governor McMaster, Chief Counselor Klomp and other technology leaders today to announce this important initiative and pilot project signals an increase in Rilian's commitment to do everything we can to secure America's critical infrastructure," he said.

Federal Backing

Sean Cairncross, White House National Cyber Director, linked the effort to broader federal policy on rural services and technology modernisation.

"President Trump and his entire Administration remain committed to strengthening and modernizing facilities and technology, and deploying innovative care models that bring high-quality health services to rural communities nationwide," Cairncross said.

Governor Henry McMaster said the state viewed cyber risk as an issue that directly affects service continuity for communities.

"Cyber threats are a rising challenge to our nation's security, and we must remain vigilant to protect the systems our communities depend on. Project Lifeline 250 is another important step toward ensuring South Carolina's rural hospitals have the resources they need to defend against cyberattacks and continue providing critical care. We are grateful to President Trump, the White House and our private-sector partners for working with us to strengthen our defenses and better protect rural communities across South Carolina," McMaster said.

Chris Klomp, Chief Counselor at the US Department of Health and Human Services, said the programme could provide a template for other rural providers.

"Here in South Carolina, we have a unique opportunity ... to build a model that every rural hospital across the entire country can rely upon and build themselves to share best practices, to collaborate, to do what the healthcare industry does so well, which is come together to care for our most vulnerable in their greatest time of need and uncertainty," Klomp said.