2026 Recap

Strengthening Healthcare Cybersecurity Through Collaboration

The Cybersecurity in Healthcare Conference took place on May 5-6, 2026, in Toronto and virtually, bringing together cybersecurity leaders, healthcare executives, and technology professionals from across the sector. The event focused on the growing urgency around protecting healthcare systems from evolving cyber threats while balancing innovation, operational realities, and patient care.

Sessions throughout the conference generated strong engagement from attendees, with lively discussions continuing between presentations and during networking breaks. Speakers shared practical lessons, emerging risks, and actionable strategies that resonated with organizations across acute care, long-term care, home care, and primary care settings.

Below are some of the key discussions that stood out during the event.

Building a National-Scale Healthcare Cybersecurity Model

One of the most talked-about sessions featured Dr. Wim Hafkamp, Managing Director of Z-CERT in the Netherlands, who shared how the Dutch healthcare sector built a centralized healthcare cybersecurity response model. His keynote, The Ongoing Evolution of the Dutch Model for Healthcare Cybersecurity, outlined how the system supports hundreds of healthcare organizations through threat intelligence sharing, incident response coordination, and sector-wide resilience testing.

A major takeaway from the session was the importance of trust and information sharing between healthcare organizations. Dr. Hafkamp described Z-CERT’s role as a “trusted broker” between hospitals, vendors, regulators, and patients, helping organizations coordinate responses during major cyber incidents.

“Cybersecurity maturity improves significantly when organizations openly share intelligence and work collectively instead of independently.” – Dr. Wim Hafkamp

Expanding Cybersecurity Beyond Hospitals

Another standout discussion focused on how healthcare organizations can extend cybersecurity protections beyond acute care settings. The panel session, LDGs, OHTs, LTC, Home Care, Primary Care: How Are We Going To Secure The Entire Healthcare System?, brought together Dr. Wim Hafkamp, Keith Lawson of London Health Sciences Centre, and Gary Rankin of Hamilton Health Sciences to examine the challenges of securing increasingly connected healthcare systems.

The discussion repeatedly returned to the idea that framed cyber resilience as a direct patient safety issue requiring board-level attention, operational planning, and regional collaboration.

“Patient care extends beyond the hospital walls.” – Gary Rankin, Hamilton Health Sciences

The panel also explored the growing role of AI in healthcare environments. AI adoption is accelerating rapidly across healthcare and warned organizations against trying to block its use outright. Instead, they encouraged healthcare leaders to establish governance frameworks, provide approved tools, educate staff, and make secure options easy to access.

Governance, Training, and Operational Readiness

Across multiple sessions, speakers emphasized that effective cybersecurity depends as much on organizational culture and governance as it does on technology. Discussions highlighted the need for hospital boards, executive teams, privacy officers, clinicians, and frontline staff to all play active roles in cybersecurity readiness.

There was also strong consensus that cybersecurity investment must be treated as an operational necessity rather than an optional technology expense. Maintaining secure systems increasingly requires dedicated funding, regular downtime for patching and upgrades, and long-term organizational commitment.

Conclusion

This year’s conference reinforced that healthcare cybersecurity is now a shared responsibility that extends far beyond hospital IT departments. Collaboration, information sharing, governance, operational preparedness, and sector-wide trust are becoming essential components of protecting patient care and maintaining healthcare system resilience. As cyber threats continue to evolve, so must the healthcare sector’s response.