CTG Moves Healthcare Cybersecurity In From the Perimeter

It can be hard to justify expenditures on security by citing their ROI or financial impact. Jeremy Molnar, Principal Cybersecurity Advisor, Healthcare Lead at CTG, prefers to collaborate with clients on the impacts of cyber attacks on patients. A denial-of-service or ransomware attack can prevent patients from getting crucial services, and breaches of sensitive data can cause extended problems later such as identify theft.

CTG is an IT consulting solutions and services firm, supporting the healthcare space with industry-specific knowledge and cybersecurity solutions. Chad Alessi, Managing Director of Cybersecurity at CTG, claims that many CIOs and CTOs don’t understand the impact and risk of installing new technologies, particularly AI.

CTG encourages management to step back and consider such security-related questions as what end result is desired. Molnar talks about “operationalization,” saying that the organization might have an emergency response plan, but needs to define exact action items to carry it out. He also asks management to consider who makes decisions and allow some spending decisions to devolve to lower levels of the organization so it can move faster in adopting necessary safeguards. There is often a struggle to get the necessary funding.

The security staff also have to learn how to communicate their goals for risk management, such as why it’s important, their level of risk tolerance, and a timeline for implementation. This is important for the larger organization as well as their own staff.

Identity (which determines access to secure services) is a central concern, and organizations have to first of all make sure they know all the identities they have and how to onboard new people. Alessi says that acquisitions create an extra level of difficulty, because the identities of the people in the merged organizations have to be integrated.

Alessi also says that organizations must use AI for security, because the attackers are using AI to increase the power and sophistication of these attacks. But as organizations incorporate AI for all kinds of services ranging from diagnostics to customer experience, he advises “guardrails” to control what data is put into the model and what level of autonomy to allow the AI agents.

Check out our interview with CTG to learn more about what’s happening with healthcare cybersecurity today.

Learn more about CTG: https://www.ctg.com/

Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.

And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.

Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.

CTG is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.

It can be hard to justify expenditures on security by citing their ROI or financial impact. Jeremy Molnar, Principal Cybersecurity Advisor, Healthcare Lead at CTG, prefers to collaborate with clients on the impacts of cyber attacks on patients. A denial-of-service or ransomware attack can prevent patients from getting crucial services, and breaches of sensitive data can cause extended problems later such as identify theft.

CTG is an IT consulting solutions and services firm, supporting the healthcare space with industry-specific knowledge and cybersecurity solutions. Chad Alessi, Managing Director of Cybersecurity at CTG, claims that many CIOs and CTOs don’t understand the impact and risk of installing new technologies, particularly AI.

CTG encourages management to step back and consider such security-related questions as what end result is desired. Molnar talks about “operationalization,” saying that the organization might have an emergency response plan, but needs to define exact action items to carry it out. He also asks management to consider who makes decisions and allow some spending decisions to devolve to lower levels of the organization so it can move faster in adopting necessary safeguards. There is often a struggle to get the necessary funding.

The security staff also have to learn how to communicate their goals for risk management, such as why it’s important, their level of risk tolerance, and a timeline for implementation. This is important for the larger organization as well as their own staff.

Identity (which determines access to secure services) is a central concern, and organizations have to first of all make sure they know all the identities they have and how to onboard new people. Alessi says that acquisitions create an extra level of difficulty, because the identities of the people in the merged organizations have to be integrated.

Alessi also says that organizations must use AI for security, because the attackers are using AI to increase the power and sophistication of these attacks. But as organizations incorporate AI for all kinds of services ranging from diagnostics to customer experience, he advises “guardrails” to control what data is put into the model and what level of autonomy to allow the AI agents.

Check out our interview with CTG to learn more about what’s happening with healthcare cybersecurity today.

Learn more about CTG: https://www.ctg.com/

Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.

And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.

Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.

CTG is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.