HIMSS17 Cybersecurity Command Center to serve as one-stop shop for security needs
Security is a top concern of IT leaders across all industries, including healthcare. But as the number of attacks on hospitals and healthcare providers continues to increase – and as new threats constantly emerge – healthcare security professionals are more invested than ever in protecting patient data and provider systems.
Eighty five percent of providers, in fact, said information security increased as a business priority for their organizations in the past year, according to the HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey. They’re not being paranoid: 80 percent admitted their organizations recently had experienced a significant security incident as of 2016.
To help hospitals and other healthcare providers better understand the evolving threat environment and learn about cutting-edge security technologies and strategies, HIMSS17 will feature its Cybersecurity Command Center on the show floor of the Orange County Convention Center.
Now in its third year as a HIMSS annual conference exhibit, the Cybersecurity Command Center combines hands-on technology demonstrations with ongoing education sessions and one-on-one meetings with cybersecurity experts from vendor organizations and providers.
While discussions of cybersecurity threats such as ransomware inevitably focus on the dangers and costs of healthcare breaches, HIMSS director of privacy and security Lee Kim said she hopes the Cybersecurity Command Center will provide a sense of empowerment and a framework for better understanding security needs of in the age of digital and connected health.
“We want attendees who experience the Cybersecurity Command Center to walk away with an interest in security and optimism in terms of what we’re doing with cybersecurity in the healthcare space,” she says.
“We hear all the bad news, but there is a lot of significant thought leadership and technology in place, and the healthcare sector is maturing quickly in dealing with threats,” Lee said. But among security professionals there’s also “an interest and optimism” in terms of what’s happening with cyber security in the healthcare space.
While much of that technology will be on display throughout the HIMSS17 exhibit hall, Kim called the Cybersecurity Command Center a one-stop shop for attendees seeking information about security solutions to protect healthcare IT networks and databases as well as patient personal and financial data.
At the Cybersecurity Command Center, HIMSS17 attendees can learn about improving their organization’s security posture, listen to experts discuss how they address the latest threats, see cutting-edge technologies, attend educational sessions and participate in interactive demonstrations, including challenges presented by application security vendor FairWarning and two other vendors.
The “FairWarning Challenge” will test attendees’ ability to catch hackers trying to steal their data, the “Threat Prevention” challenge offered by cybersecurity vendor Cylance will test attendees’ endpoint security knowledge. Microsoft’s security challenge is designed to teach attendees about common pitfalls and how providers may already have access to tools that can help secure patient data.
“There are presentations going on continuously,” Kim said. “And you don’t have to be a cybersecurity expert to get something out of it.”
The Cybersecurity Command Center is located in Booth 376, Hall A, in the Orange County Convention Center.
HIMSS17 runs from Feb. 19-23, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center.
This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.
