On the second day of activities of the Digital Health Forum of the Central American Health Informatics Network (RECAINSA), its executive director and co-founder, Daniel Otzoy, gave a keynote address on health data security in the region.
A data is the minimum unit of information, it is from the sum of data that information and knowledge can be produced. Information systems feed on data, either physically or electronically. Digitization processes and the migration of information to a digital system have many benefits, however, the greatest challenges are related to information security and protection.
Daniel Otzoy works as a counselor at the public health consulting firm John Snow Inc. and is also the executive director and co-founder of RECAINSA. On the second day of the Digital Health Forum 2021, he presented the master class "Security of health data in Latin America". In it, he addressed issues related to acceleration and digital transformation and cybersecurity.
Otzoy explains that during the pandemic what happened was not a digital transformation, since that would imply a paradigm shift, but a digital acceleration process, that is, the resources available were used to produce a change that is still in progress. .
Regarding cybersecurity, the main challenges facing the health industry are: Malware and ransomware, security breaches, internal threats, attacks and denial of services, threats to the cloud, phishing.
In Latin America there is not enough information available regarding cyberattacks in the health sector, however, studies indicate that it is the region with the third highest number of cyberattacks. However, 13 countries in the region have a national cybersecurity strategy.
Among the best cybersecurity practices in Latin America, the Information and Communications Technology Emergency Response Centers are recommended. Uruguay has one of the best in the continent.
Other practices include the adoption of international standards such as ISO 27001, Information Security Management System; HIPAA Compliance practices (United States Law), and Ethical hacking.
In conclusion, Otzoy explains that it is necessary to produce more knowledge about cybersecurity in Latin America and promote the development of national strategies.
Check out the full conference at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HzLan_elug
