Experts to address AI, Blockchain, ransomware and executive leadership at Healthcare Security Forum
Cybersecurity is the most pressing issue in healthcare right now and, by many accounts, the market segment is on the verge of disruption.
That’s where I see things standing, heading into the Healthcare Security Forum in Boston during mid-September.
Just when it looked like WannaCry was about as bad as things could get, along came Petya and then NotPetya to rattle hospitals and other infosec pros even more. Add those bits of ransomware and wiper malware to an evolving threat landscape peppered with unsecured medical devices and the ongoing stream of data breaches — against the backdrop of tight security budgets and a staffing shortage — and it doesn’t appear that today’s security challenges will ease up anytime soon.
That said, a number of technologies are emerging and bringing big promise for securing health data. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are among those, as is Blockchain.
Stalwart IT consultancy Gartner is already predicting that AI signals a more advanced age of cybersecurity wherein machine learning algorithms as well as predictive and prescriptive analytics augment the talents of infosec professionals.
Learn more: Healthcare Security Forum, Boston Sept. 11-13, 2017. Register here.
AI and Blockchain, in fact, will be among the topics expert speakers will address at the Healthcare Security Forum that kicks off in Boston on September 11-13.
While sexy cutting-edge tools will indeed help at some point, there is still no replacing the basic blocking and tackling -- whether that’s tried-and-true technical frameworks from the likes of HITRUST and NIST, basic endpoint protection, securing legacy medical devices that have been around for several years and still have another decade or more of life.
Particularly with so many hospitals running security operations on tight budgets, accomplishing just about anything necessitates experienced executive leadership in the shape of soft skills and even cybersecurity superheroes who balance business needs against so many security concerns.
User education and awareness, as any cybersecurity leader can tell you, are essential components of any compliance, privacy or security program. And, that, at times also involves educating the C-suite as much as or, in certain instances, even more so than every other employee because they can be such valuable targets.
What’s next?
Here’s my prediction: Hospitals will continue honing their risk management and security postures — one prominent security chief speaking at the Healthcare Security Forum even says strategy is the best security — cloud computing, AI and machine learning, maybe even Blockchain, will usher in the next-generation of more rigorous evidence-based security technologies and tactics.
I hope to see you at the Healthcare Security Forum in Boston, Sept. 11-13, 2017.
Twitter: SullyHIT
Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com
