At this point, the healthcare sector is well aware that hackers are targeting providers in droves. For one, it’s often an easy target. But primarily, healthcare is rich with patient data that providers need access to for daily operations.

Hackers know that -- and as the onslaught of cyberattacks continue to permeate the industry, cybersecurity should be top-of-mind for all C-suite executives. 

The upcoming HIMSS Healthcare Security Forum in San Francisco, taking place on June 11 and 12, 2018, will zero-in on these issues and the industry’s most pressing cybersecurity concerns. Not only that, but security leaders will highlight lessons learned -- and how organizations can fight back.

With that in mind, here are the event biggest topics:

Retired U.S. Navy Commander Kirk Lippold will kick things off by highlighting the importance of leadership and accountability in navigating the threat landscape. His opening keynote will use a suicide terrorist attack as a backdrop, to show how healthcare security leaders can impart a sense of ownership to staff.

Medical device security will also take the spotlight, as Jeff Tully, University of California Davis security researcher and Christian Dameff, UC San Diego emergency medicine doctor discuss how breaches are no longer the only threat to patients. Medical device hacks present a serious threat to patient safety.

Tully and Dameff will demonstrate how hackers can breach medical devices -- and how that can impact an ever-connected world of healthcare technology.

Following Tully and Dameff, Cybersecurity Evangelist Richard Staynings will discuss how AI tools are helping to secure the healthcare sector. Technologies like machine learning, AI and others that boost automation and protection can help prevent and contain some attacks.

Staynings will also help attendees evaluate how these tools can be used, and whether they are the right fit for an organization.

But even with the right tools, user error and insider threats are still healthcare’s biggest challenge, an issue Michael Gold, Midwest Health Collaborative Analytics and Technology vice president, will discuss.

Gold will share how the user experience can either doom or enhance an organization’s compliance, and how a user-first mentality can help with the implementation of security policies and procedures. 

The bug bounty market has steadily increased in the healthcare sector, but many don’t know how the process works. David Baker, Bugcrowd chief security officer, will share how bug bounties function, along with sharing how the method can augment security staff and validate a hospital’s own security efforts.

And as more of healthcare moves into the cloud, security increasingly becomes more imperative for providers. Sandeep Chandra, San Diego Super Computer Center’s health cyberinfrastructure director, will share how to ensure data in the hybrid cloud is secure, while discussing the tools that make it possible.

Chandra will also discuss how to remain compliant in the cloud and the role of managed service organizations in building end-to-end solutions. 

The HIMSS Healthcare Security Forum is scheduled for June 11-12, 2018, at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco. Register here

Twitter: @JessieFDavis
Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com