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PODCAST

UnHack with Drex DeFord

This Week Health

Cyber-safety is patient-safety. On “UnHack,” Drex DeFord, veteran healthcare CIO and infused strategist, breaks down the biggest cybersecurity and risk challenges facing healthcare today. Drex and expert guests explore what happened, why it matters, and how to build real-world resilience. The show"s a mostly plain-English, mostly non-technical discussion that dives into the people, process, and technology making healthcare more secure; and it"s NOT just for cyber-professionals; it’s for everyone in

technology medicine

All Episodes

30:23

Newsday: AWS Outage Exploration and Removing Risk...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/10

November 10, 2025: When AWS experienced a major outage affecting over 500 companies, healthcare IT leaders were reminded that cloud architecture isn't just a technical decision; it's a strategic imperative. Vik Patel, COO from Tido dives into the cascading failures that exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare's cloud dependencies. From Epic instances running on AWS to the emerging challenges of AI data lakes, this conversation reveals why simplicity in architecture might be healthcare IT's most

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03:55

2 Minute Drill: EY Data Leak, India's Cybercrime...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/04

Ernst & Young exposed 4TB of client data on an unsecured database, highlighting data hygiene failures even at major consulting firms. India's cybercrime villages have transformed entire communities from agriculture to organized online fraud operations. New AI browsers from Perplexity and ChatGPT lack critical security controls, creating risks as they access cookies, session tokens, and sensitive files. Healthcare leaders must treat these emerging tools like untrusted interns and supervise

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26:40

UnHack (the Podcast): Passion Over Paychecks and...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/04

November 4, 2025: Identity has become the foundation of healthcare security, but managing it is more complex than ever. In part two of this UnHack (the Podcast), Mary Dickerson, Associate VP and CISO of UTHealth Houston & Gordon Groschl, CISO and Director of HTM at Texas Children’s Hospitals, explore how organizations are shifting from prevention to resiliency. They also share candid career advice for aspiring cybersecurity professionals, challenging the industry's unrealistic entry-level

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29:02

Newsday: The CxO Pulse - Insights and Lessons from...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/03

November 3, 2025: What are healthcare IT leaders really concerned about? Fresh from three 229 Project summits across the country, Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord pull back the curtain on the most pressing conversations happening right now. From simplifying AI governance with a two-track vendor approach to rethinking hiring strategies for an agent-driven future, this episode captures the pulse of healthcare leadership in real time. Discover why some organizations are solving hundreds

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23:54

Solution Showcase: Smooth and Rapid Growth In the M&A...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/29

October 29, 2025: When UNC Health embarked on integrating 14 hospitals and hundreds of clinics across North Carolina, they needed more than just technology—they needed a scalable playbook. Brent Lamm, SVP and CIO at UNC Health, joins Glen Phares, National Director for Healthcare Solution Delivery at Experis Health Solutions, to reveal how UNC Health built repeatable processes for rapid M&A integration. From consolidating nine different payrolls into one ERP system to managing infrastructure

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03:30

2 Minute Drill: Pokemon Go's Hidden Agenda: How AR...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/28

Drex explores how Niantic's Pokemon Go used gameplay to crowdsource geospatial AI training data, including strategically placing Pokemon at hospitals and clinics to map sensitive facilities. Players unknowingly volunteered location data, camera scans, and movement patterns through terms of service agreements most never read. A cautionary tale about digital consent and the hidden costs of "free to play" apps in healthcare settings.Remember, Stay a Little ParanoidX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week

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17:37

UnHack (the Podcast): Zero Trust and the Identity...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/28

October 28, 2025: Mary Dickerson, Associate VP and CISO of UTHealth Houston & Gordon Groschl, CISO and Director of HTM at Texas Children’s Hospitals, discuss the current research landscape. Identity has become the ultimate battleground in healthcare security, but most organizations still don't have the fundamentals right. From securing non-human identities to enabling research without compromising compliance, these CISOs share hard-won lessons from the frontlines.Key Points:03:36 Challenges in

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32:59

Newsday: Why Constraints Drive Innovation - AI Agents...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/27

October 27, 2025: Bill, Drex, and Sarah discuss the realities of implementing AI agents across organizations. The group tackles uncomfortable questions about workforce displacement, the critical thinking skills being lost to automation, and the massive energy demands threatening AI sustainability. From simplifying complex systems to understanding what innovation really means under constraint, This Week Health explores the practical and philosophical challenges facing healthcare technology leaders

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06:18

2 Minute Drill: AI Infrastructure Power Crisis and...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/22

The future of AI resilience isn't just about firewalls and backups—it's about ensuring power grids, chip fabrication facilities, and cloud infrastructure can withstand attacks and disruptions. As AI becomes critical infrastructure, the question isn't whether it will change everything, but whether we can power and protect it without creating catastrophic business liabilities.Remember, Stay a Little ParanoidX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for

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31:17

Newsday: MFA Isn't Enough and Why Healthcare Can’t...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/20

Multi-factor authentication isn't the bulletproof security measure it once was. Preston Duren, VP of Threat Services at Fortified Health Security, explores how cybercriminals are outsmarting traditional MFA through sophisticated phishing tactics and MFA bombing. The conversation shifts to the debate over platform consolidation—does fewer mean safer, or are we creating attractive single points of attack? With AI rapidly transforming both offensive and defensive capabilities in cybersecurity, the

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04:06

2 Minute Drill: Why Your MFA Isn't Stopping Direct...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/16

Cybercriminals are hijacking employee paychecks by exploiting outdated MFA systems in payroll platforms like Workday. Drex breaks down how attackers use sophisticated phishing techniques—including MFA fatigue attacks and session hijacking—to bypass traditional two-factor authentication. Learn why text-based and push notification MFA are no longer secure, and discover how phishing-resistant authentication methods like FIDO2 keys and passkeys can protect your organization from paycheck theft. CISA and

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34:59

Newsday: CIO Turnover - Leadership Challenges in a...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/13

October 13, 2025: Healthcare IT leaders are exhausted, CIO positions remain unfilled for months, and the pressure keeps mounting. In this candid conversation, Laura O'Toole, CEO and Founder of SureTest, explores why traditional CIO roles are transforming faster than organizations can define them. They discuss the widening gap between leadership expectations and operational reality, the critical shift from problem-solver to coalition-builder, and why empathy may be the most underrated leadership

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04:22

2 Minute Drill: Preparing Your Team for the Synthetic...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/08

Drex tackles an urgent emerging threat in healthcare cybersecurity: the explosion of AI-generated synthetic media. With Meta's new Vibes video generator and OpenAI's Sora creating hyper-realistic video content from simple text prompts, healthcare organizations face unprecedented challenges in distinguishing real from fake content.While watermarks and AI labels exist on these generated videos, they're often small, poorly placed, and easily cropped out by malicious actors. This isn't about banning

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24:19

Executive Interview: Solving Healthcare's Identity...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/08

October 8, 2025: Bill Willis, CTO of IDMWORKS, joins Drex DeFord to unpack why healthcare organizations struggle with identity and access management despite having the right tools. Bill reveals how healthcare's seven to eight different user personas create unprecedented complexity compared to other industries, and why most IAM failures stem from data and process issues rather than technology gaps. He explains IDMWORKS' free fireside chat approach to helping organizations visualize their entire

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28:19

Newsday: IT Expecting 18% Hiring Cut and Innovating...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/06

October 6, 2025: New research reveals an expected 18% reduction in hiring over the next two years, but this isn't about downsizing—it's about strategic reallocation. Bill Willis, CTO of IDMWORKS, joins to discuss these new breaking statistics. With 62% of organizations prioritizing AI skills over traditional development experience, the industry faces a critical choice between reducing headcount or upskilling existing talent. Meanwhile, cybersecurity experts warn that the traditional network

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02:49

2 Minute Drill: Ascension Lawsuit Moves Forward,...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/10/02

Healthcare security takes center stage as Ascension's 5.6 million patient data breach leads to prolonged legal battles, while OneBlood settles after a ransomware attack that rippled through the blood donation supply chain. Meanwhile, a potential government shutdown threatens to furlough 35% of CISA's workforce, and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 faces expiration, putting critical public-private threat intelligence partnerships at risk. Drex breaks down the operational, financial,

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24:29

Newsday: The Perfect Storm in Healthcare...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/09/29

September 29, 2025: In this episode of Newsday, Drex is joined by Russell Teague of Fortified Health Security for a candid look at the storm brewing in healthcare IT. From the promises and pitfalls of AI to the growing sophistication of cyber threats, they explore how health systems are balancing innovation with risk. The conversation dives into financial pressures, shifting reimbursement models, and the tough choices CIOs and CISOs are facing as budgets tighten. With insights from the front lines,

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20:47

Newsday: Salesforce Breach Spreads and New Liability...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/09/26

September 26, 2025: George Pappas, CEO of Intraprise Health by Health Catalyst, joins This Week Health for the News. Together, they unpack the Salesforce breaches that turned cybersecurity companies into victims and the explosion of personal injury lawyers now chasing data breach cases. With class action lawsuits up fivefold and cyber insurance policies being voided for non-compliance, they explore whether Epic's bold new AI platform strategy could be the answer—or create even bigger problems. As

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04:02

2 Minute Drill: Secret Service Busts Massive SIM Farm...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/09/24

The US Secret Service dismantled a covert communication network in New York City featuring 300+ SIM servers and over 100,000 SIM cards capable of overwhelming cellular networks. Drex explores the implications of this "fake telephone warehouse" discovered near the UN General Assembly, discussing how commodity hardware can create denial of service attacks against cellular infrastructure. Key takeaways include the need for healthcare organizations to develop cellular disruption scenarios in incident

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39:53

UnHack (the Podcast): A Peek Behind the Health ISAC...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/09/23

September 23, 2025: Sahan Fernando, CISO at Rady Children's Health San Diego, reveals the split-second decisions that keep pediatric healthcare running while under attack. Navigating the stark reality that children's hospitals face the same sophisticated threats as major health systems but with a fraction of the resources, Sahan unpacks how forcing threat actors into high-visibility channels might be the key to catching them faster. Can Health ISAC bridge the massive gap between well-funded health

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47 results

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