Privy to Privacy

Technology is eminent in the twenty-first century, and the last 25 years alone has seen a marked increase in the number of academic and professional disciplines touched by technology. Medicine is no stranger to this, and with the modern surge in AI and health tracker apps, patients have grown concerned with their online safety and privacy. UC San Diego Health serves thousands of patients, and for each of them, UC San Diego Health has made it clear that patient privacy is a top priority.

At UC San Diego’s very own Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity, medical professionals and cybersecurity researchers have joined forces to improve patient safety and navigate this new era of information and data. In 2023, the UC San Diego School of Medicine was awarded a $9.5 million federal grant to specifically research and develop strategies to fight ransomware attacks, demonstrating national recognition of its expertise in the field. The center’s aim is to identify cybersecurity risks and provide solutions (new technologies) to help keep patients safe. Researchers are currently developing "Project CRASHCART," an emergency downtime technology platform designed to quickly restore critical patient safety and business continuity functions during an attack, which is an innovative approach to cyber resilience. Online protective measures, such as multi factor-authentication, and offline protective measures, such as physical binders of important health care information (medications, allergies, immunization record, etc.) are among other encouraged methods to protect patients. 

Emphatically, the aforementioned AI is no “holy grail” to solve cybersecurity concerns. Unfortunately, AI is not infallible, and hackers can take advantage of even the smallest vulnerabilities in AI code or framework to steal patient data, halt patient finances, or offline life-saving medical technologies. To combat this, researchers at the Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity are advancing encryptions and employing secure-by-design software and hardware to promote digital health innovation while dissuading cybersecurity attacks.

Times are changing, as they, ironically, often do. Rather than cower in the shadows over the looming threat of cyber attacks, UC San Diego Health sets a great example by lighting the path to incorporate safety directly into healthcare technologies, keeping patients, their health, and their data safe from malware attacks.