Network Infrastructure

The healthcare sector is well-aware that medical devices are vulnerable, but it’s hard to obtain the extra resources to fix the issue.

The prospect of hackers gaining access to remote access to networked IT systems and connected medical devices raises concerns about serious safety risks.

Simulated attacks on a healthcare organization can help infosec leaders assess their security posture, but not all pen testers are created equal and not every provider is ready to be tested.

Veterans Affairs selected the Veterans Integrated Service Network 20 in the Pacific Northwest for the initial pilot site, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said at the “State of the VA” hearing.

Iomed Medical Solution CEO Javier de Oca is in the business of generating data specific databases for health systems and believes the time is now to see that data translate into better patient outcomes and sustainable systems for providers.

Aashima Gupta, global head of Health Solutions at Google Cloud, talks about Google’s approach to technology enabling infrastructure with healthcare industry standards to allows organizations to have more time to innovate.

The Fetal Diagnostic Institute of the Pacific was able to restore data from backups, and with help from a cybersecurity firm wipe the virus from the infected server.

Oakland, California-based Alameda Health System has named its new chief information officer. Mark Amey will relocate to the Bay Area from San Diego, where he was most recently associate CIO at University of California San Diego Health. Alameda Health appointed Amey in the same week that Sanford Health named former VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, as its chief innovation officer. Much like Shulkin, Amey brings considerable familiarity with electronic health record implementations. Alameda cited its work to roll out a $200 million Epic EHR across the five-hospital public health system as among the reasons it brought Amey onboard. Amey has been working in health IT for more than two decades. Before his stint at UC San Diego, he served as Chief Technology Officer during another Epic rollout at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital-Stanford Health. Prior to that, he also held CIO positions at University of Southern California Health, Ascension Health and Adventist Health. In San Diego, his day-to day responsibilities included oversight of its infrastructure teams, the project management office and security operations. It was at UCSD that Amey helped transition its on-premise Epic system to a hosted cloud model. The mover not only helped the health system be more agile and maintain disaster recovery capabilities, he explained at the time, but "by creating greater operational efficiencies, we can invest more time and resources in patient care." Other areas of expertise include management of outsourced IT vendors, conversion of services to in-house operations and more. "I am excited to join Alameda Health System at this pivotal time in the history of the organization," said Amey. "Having gone through similar projects in the past, I know this implementation will transform the care we provide, including the exchange of information and communications with patients and medical colleagues." Alameda Health partners with five other health systems in the Bay Area on an interoperability project designed to reduce emergency department usage but also boost the ED care that is delivered. With its new Epic rollout, it's hoping to spur easier data sharing among its own five hospitals. "Mark’s in-depth knowledge and impressive experience align with the future direction of Alameda Health System," said Alameda's CEO Delvecchio Finley in a statement. "As CIO, we are confident he will guide the organization through a smooth transition to electronic health records that will enhance our commitment to serve our patients with highest-quality care." Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com

Hackers are constantly innovating attack methods and organizations need to follow suit, by following trends and choosing cybersecurity tools that fit their business needs.

Similar to the notorious SamSam variant that has wreaked havoc on the healthcare sector, the new ransomware only infects crucial assets and resources.