Cybersecurity in the Time of COVID-19

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of cybersecurity and digital transformation, argues Dr Charles Alessi, chief clinical officer at HIMSS.

Digital Transformation is Key

Paradoxically, largely because the rapid spread of this pandemic where it is present in every country other than Antarctica (to date), mimics the new connected world and is a product of the digital and technological revolution that has transformed the way we live.  

The contrast with the Spanish flu which occurred 98 years ago really demonstrates this. Whilst in 1918, there was little in the way of lockdown and mitigation, at least countries had time to prepare. What has happened to us in a matter of weeks took a year to play out in 1918. 

The other paradox is that although the world has obviously changed, the health systems have changed far less than the ecosystems they inhabit, and analogue responses based on bricks and mortar visits are all too often still being deployed. Health and care systems are, however, having to adopt to this new world and suddenly different modalities from face-to-face consultations and the office visit are becoming the mainstream, not the exception.