WellLink Hosts First Healthcare Cybersecurity Virtual Symposium
Imagine it’s a normal Tuesday morning and suddenly your EHR freezes, your phones go silent, and the ransom demand flashes across your screen. Would your team know what to do? This scenario isn’t hypothetical anymore. Cyber incidents are escalating in frequency, complexity, and impact.
With threats accelerating across the sector, WellLink Health Alliance this week convened experts and practitioners for its Healthcare Cybersecurity Virtual Symposium, a day dedicated to understanding the evolving threat landscape and building stronger defenses. Hosted on the interactive vFairs platform, the symposium featured national experts, hands-on learning, and meaningful peer discussion, all focused on safeguarding systems, data, and patient safety.
Setting the Stage: Why Cybersecurity Matters Now More Than Ever
WellLink President & CEO Brian Lane opened the symposium by underscoring the urgency of modern cyber threats. Technology, he reminded attendees, is essential to communication, clinical operations, and connected medical devices, but it also introduces real and growing risks to patient care.
“A cyber-attack on a hospital or health system is more than just a data breach. It can disrupt care and delay treatment, and even compromise patient safety,” Lane said, emphasizing the need for shared learning and cross-sector collaboration.
Keynote: The Current Threat Landscape in Healthcare
The symposium opened with a compelling keynote from Ali Pabrai, CEO of ecfirst and a leading expert in cybersecurity and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. Pabrai walked attendees through the most pressing risks facing healthcare entities today, sharing insights on HIPAA enforcement trends, the emerging threats associated with AI, and the web of federal and industry regulations that providers must navigate.
He underscored how gaps in compliance, combined with rapid technological change, can leave organizations vulnerable on multiple fronts. Pabrai’s message was clear: healthcare leaders must stay ahead of evolving rules, strengthen safeguards around AI-driven tools and data use, and maintain rigorous HIPAA readiness. His keynote set the tone for the day, offering a grounded view of the risks shaping the future of healthcare cybersecurity.
Federal Action & Policy Insights with Premier Inc.
Following the keynote, Aden Klein, technology policy analyst at Premier Inc., delivered a timely session on federal cyber policy and regulatory expectations for providers. Klein walked attendees through recent developments in Washington and explained how emerging policies will influence cybersecurity requirements.
He encouraged attendees to remain in close communication with their members of Congress, provided helpful tips for advocating on policy issues, and highlighted the priorities of federal legislators and opportunities for healthcare providers to share their perspectives.
Cyber Due Diligence in Purchasing
Next, attendees shifted from policy to practice with a session on cybersecurity due diligence in procurement, led by Edward Estrada, chief digital compliance officer at Premier Inc. Estrada outlined what organizations should look for when evaluating connected medical devices, cloud services, and digital tools, and stressed that cybersecurity must be embedded into purchasing decisions from the very beginning.
His session gave leaders practical guidance for strengthening vendor evaluations, contract terms, and risk assessment processes.
Hands-On Learning: A Real-World Cyber Incident Tabletop Exercise
The final session of the day was a highly interactive tabletop exercise facilitated by Erik Ramirez, cybersecurity advisor and founder of P5Cyber. Ramirez guided attendees through simulated breach scenarios, encouraging them to join the conversation, and collaboratively walk through the decisions leaders must make under pressure.
Participants explored detection, response timelines, communications challenges, operational impacts, and coordination with internal and external partners, gaining real-world insight into the complexities of crisis response.
Now Available On Demand
WellLink extends its sincere appreciation to the symposium’s speakers for sharing their expertise and contributing meaningful insight to each session. We are also grateful for event sponsors Oswald and WellLink Group Purchasing, whose support helped make this program possible.
If you missed a session or want to revisit some of the insights shared throughout the day, all presentations from the Healthcare Cybersecurity Virtual Symposium are now available to view on demand. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to catch up on sessions you couldn’t attend live, share key segments with colleagues, or revisit the tabletop exercise to reinforce your organization’s response planning.
This symposium is just the beginning. WellLink is developing additional programming on cybersecurity and other critical issues facing healthcare and community organizations, and the conversation will continue at Connect Northeast Ohio 2026, our annual conference taking place May 14 in Cleveland. More details will be shared in the new year but hold your calendar for this opportunity to come together with your colleagues across the region to learn and share strategies that support the well-being of our region.
