PODCAST: Catching up with Cybersecurity Guru Mac McMillan

At this time last year, most of the healthcare cybersecurity buzz was around ransomware, particularly following the “WannaCry” virus that swept the globe in 2017. What’s more, as the calendar turned to 2018, ransomware was still very much a big part of the healthcare news cycle following an attack on some of Allscripts’ IT applications.

But fast forward six months, and now, the narrative is changing. Indeed, in the first half of 2018, ransomware events in major healthcare data breaches diminished substantially compared to the same time period last year, according to one recent report.

Mac McMillan, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Austin, Texas-based consulting firm CynergisTek, believes that 2017 was “clearly the year of ransomware,” but now, although ransomware attacks are still going on, the tide is shifting “to other and newer attacks.”

McMillan, a recurring guest on this podcast, dives into what these new and emerging threats are on this latest episode, while also weighing in on if healthcare organizations have begun to “smarten up” in their defense strategies. McMillan also examines what role blockchain could play in cybersecurity’s future.

The podcast runs about 15 minutes in length, and remember, you can listen to all Healthcare Informatics podcasts right here.