healthcare security

As part of our National Health IT Week series, today we are focusing on advancing public health and population health. We will look at critical efforts to overcome the problems that lead to poor health outcomes. Addressing pain points that impact the patient, clinician, IT, and administration within…

“Hospital hit with massive ransomware attack” – It’s becoming an increasingly frequent headline and one you don’t want to be a part of. If stories like that are keeping you and your hospital’s security team up at night, you aren’t alone. With rising instances of ransomware and the increasing sophist…

­­The FDA recall of a medical device last week has caused a bit of a media storm as the general public scrambles to find out more. The fact that a medical device meant to help sustain life is insecure and could be hacked to kill a patient is alarming to all of us. More worrying is that the medical d…

This week, the FDA took the unprecedented step of recalling a medical device – a pacemaker – because it was found to be vulnerable to cyber threats. The recall arose from an investigation by the FDA in February that highlighted a number of areas of non-compliance. While there are no known reports of…

Today’s news of the cyberattack affecting healthcare organizations—including the National Health Service (NHS)—in the UK, is sobering. Sources are reporting that the ransomware attack has “crippled the health system’s ability to treat patients.” Thousands of non-emergency appointments have been canc…

It’s a gross understatement to say that security is critical in healthcare, where a breach can not only impact an organization’s effectiveness and reputation but also affect patient privacy and—worst-case scenario—health and safety. If you are reading this blog, you no doubt already know the most co…

If you worked with just about any hospital or healthcare provider a mere ten years ago you may have come across the Information Security Manager, Director of Security and Compliance, or someone who filled this role under another title. Their role was to lead ‘IT Security’ and manage a small staff of…

Not long ago I was asked to attend a quarterly Board meeting of one of my healthcare clients and to present the recommendations of a Strategic Security Roadmap (SSR) exercise that my team and I had conducted for the organization. The meeting commenced sharply at 6am one weekday morning and I was all…

January this year witnessed the largest healthcare breach to date in which the personal records of 80 million individuals were compromised. It also marked an apparent change in focus from attacks on delivery organizations to healthcare payers. Last week two additional health insurers reported that t…