Dan Dodson interviews Dr. Bradley Fowler, author of “Cybersecurity Leadership for Healthcare Organizations and Institutions of Higher Education,” discussing the pressing cybersecurity workforce shortages and the role of education and leadership in addressing risks. Dr. Fowler shares insights from his research, emphasizing human error as a major cause of breaches and the critical need for robust policy compliance and updated training in healthcare. He introduces frameworks that support risk management and highlights collaboration, ongoing education, and the integration of industrial-organizational psychology as central to effective cybersecurity. His book is intended for IT professionals, managers, and anyone leveraging technology in modern workplaces .

This episode distills memorable insights from six months of interviews with healthcare cybersecurity leaders and clinicians. The five lessons: focus on fundamentals over flashy tech (Phil Alexander), ensure leadership at all levels (Chrissi Maguire), rely on preparation and people during outages (Katrina Brown), recognize every cyber event as a patient safety issue (Dr. Jeffery Tully), and cultivate strong governance and organizational culture (Stephen Ramirez). These frontline stories emphasize that effective cybersecurity in healthcare is built on resilience, teamwork, and a relentless commitment to patient safety and organizational culture.

What happens when artificial intelligence starts making healthcare decisions faster than humans can review them? Dr. Ali Dehghantanha’s Professor and Canadian Research Chair in Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence, takes us on a fascinating journey through the evolving landscape of healthcare cybersecurity where self-healing AI systems may soon become our frontline defenders.

The cybersecurity battlefield shifts constantly. From database security to cloud protection to today's AI systems, Dr. Dehghantanha explains why "the only thing constant in cybersecurity is change." This rapid evolution creates unique challenges for healthcare organizations trying to protect patient data while embracing transformative technologies. As healthcare increasingly relies on AI for clinical decision support, the cybersecurity stakes have never been higher.

Dr. Dehghantanha’s groundbreaking research focuses on self-healing AI systems that automatically detect and repair vulnerabilities without human intervention. This capability becomes critical in healthcare environments where AI analyzes clinical data and makes treatment recommendations at speeds beyond human oversight capabilities. The self-healing component provides essential guardrails against potentially harmful decisions that exceed the system's design parameters.

Cultural and socioeconomic factors significantly influence AI adoption in healthcare. Less-regulated regions and underserved communities often embrace AI healthcare solutions more readily when traditional medical resources are scarce. This accelerates adoption but raises critical questions about verification and potential exploitation by adversaries. As patients increasingly trust AI-generated medical advice, these systems become prime targets for sophisticated cyberattacks that could manipulate clinical recommendations.

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation about the delicate balance between AI innovation and security in healthcare. Dr. Ali challenges us to consider not just how we implement AI, but how we protect these systems when they become responsible for life-or-death decisions. The future of healthcare cybersecurity lies at this intersection of human expertise, artificial intelligence, and robust security frameworks.