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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

02:44

2 Minute Drill: Insider Threats in Healthcare:...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/26

Drex examines the growing insider threat landscape in healthcare cybersecurity. The episode covers CrowdStrike's recent insider incident where screenshots were leaked to cybercriminals, new research showing 93% of organizations struggle to detect insider threats, and the Geisinger Health/Nuance $5 million settlement over improper data access. Drex also reveals how ransomware groups like Medusa are directly recruiting healthcare employees with financial incentives, highlighting that insider threats

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28:13

UnHack (the Podcast): Breaking Down Silos and...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/25

November 25, 2025: What if cybersecurity awareness training could be fun, like mixing bratwurst and flu shots? Shawna Hofer, CISO at St. Luke's Health System, shares how her team transformed security culture by meeting staff where they are—literally. From creating engaging one-minute videos featuring everyday healthcare workers to establishing a groundbreaking IT and cyber resiliency team that breaks down traditional silos, Shawna reveals why the best healthcare CISOs are expert translators and

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22:10

Newsday: Merger Madness and Why Hospitals are Moving...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/24

November 24, 2025: Healthcare organizations are drowning in applications they can't even inventory, especially after mergers and acquisitions. But the real shock comes when they try to access archived data years later. Dave Dyell, Managing Partner at Innovative Consulting Group, reveals why cloud storage fees are forcing health systems to rethink their entire archiving strategy, particularly for medical imaging. With AI initiatives on the horizon, the way you archive data today determines whether

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25:01

Newsday: Doing More with Less and Budgeting Wake-Up...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/21

November 21, 2025: What if your organization could reclaim millions of dollars just by rethinking processes you already have in place? Bill Willis, CTO of IDMWORKS, discusses the hidden costs plaguing healthcare IT, from runaway cloud storage bills to the shocking economics of password resets. Discover why identity management isn't just a security issue but a massive financial opportunity, how HR-IT integration is transforming onboarding from a week-long wait to day-one productivity, and why the

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04:10

2 Minute Drill: Cybercriminals Weaponize AI:...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/20

Cybercriminals are escalating their tactics by deploying AI-enabled malware that adapts in real-time. Google Cloud and Anthropic threat intelligence reports reveal attackers using tools like Prompt Flux malware to contact AI APIs mid-attack, rewriting code to evade detection. Threat actors are bypassing AI safety guardrails through social engineering, tricking models into providing malicious capabilities. The underground cybercrime market now offers sophisticated multifunction tools, lowering

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18:38

Executive Interview: How Complexity Kills Innovation...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/19

November 19, 2025: Healthcare IT infrastructure has become so complex that teams have lost sight of the actual patient impact. Kurt Telep, Healthcare Field CTO at Nutanix, pulls no punches in this conversation about what's broken and how to fix it. From his personal regret about avoiding Kubernetes when it first emerged to explaining why 95% of healthcare organizations will consume AI rather than build it, Kurt delivers hard-earned wisdom on navigating constant technological change. He reveals why

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26:44

Newsday: Security Culture Saves Hospital and Resource...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/17

November 17, 2025: How does a 25-bed critical access hospital successfully stop a cyberattack when larger health systems fall victim? George Pappas, CEO of Intraprise Health, unpacks the Colorado hospital that shows how security culture beats expensive technology. The conversation reveals why vendor transparency remains elusive despite high-profile breaches, explores the harsh reality of hospitals that know their vulnerabilities but lack resources to fix them, and tackles AI governance challenges

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03:04

2 Minute Drill: CISA Extension, Oracle Breach...

UnHack with Drex DeFord ·

2025/11/12

CISA 2015's temporary extension buys time until January, but what happens next? Drex breaks down the Oracle E-Business Suite ransomware attack affecting 29 victims—including potential third and fourth-party partners in your supply chain. Plus, Google's $32B Wiz acquisition clears a major hurdle, and Armas' $435M funding round signals where security investment is heading. Keep your threat intel pipelines hot and your radar up.Remember, Stay a Little ParanoidX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week

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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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35 results

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