Insights from the SoCal HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum Panel

At the 6th Annual SoCal HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum, CISOs from Sharp HealthCare, Children's Hospital LA, and Verity Health shared perspectives on the current threat landscape and defense strategies for healthcare organizations.

Key takeaways:

• Ransomware Remains the Top Threat — Attacks are becoming more targeted, faster, and more costly to remediate
• Third-Party Risk is Critical — Vendors and supply chain partners are becoming attack vectors; vetting is essential
• Zero Trust Architecture — Leading health systems are shifting from perimeter-based to zero trust models
• AI-Powered Threat Detection — Machine learning models catch threats faster than rule-based systems
• Board-Level Engagement — CISOs emphasize that security must be a board-level discussion, not just IT
• Incident Response Plans — Organizations that test and maintain incident response plans recover faster with less damage

The consensus: Healthcare security requires proactive threat hunting, vendor risk management, and cultural commitment from leadership to board level.