ARPA-H, DARPA to Host AI-Powered Cybersecurity Tool Competition for Health Care Sector

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are hosting the Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge to encourage the use of artificial intelligence-powered solutions against cyberattacks.

Renee Wegrzyn, director at ARPA-H, said the competition aims to produce solutions that address limitations experienced with using off-the-shelf software tools for detecting cyberthreats and protecting health care facilities.

During the competition, teams will undergo challenges based on real-world open-source and critical infrastructure software, with the winning teams receiving millions of dollars in cash prizes, ARPA-H said.

The independent entity within the National Institutes of Health has been engaged in advancing technologies that improve health care delivery over the past few months. In March, ARPA-H awarded nonprofit Every Cure a grant amounting to up to $48 million to develop an AI/machine learning-enabled solution capable of going through proven medications as a therapy option for rare or currently untreatable diseases.

It is also collaborating with the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health to make medical imaging data more accessible by establishing a new commercial platform.