2025-12-13 –, Rookie Track 2
In healthcare, cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls—it’s about people. This 15-minute session offers a sharp, frontline look at how social engineering exploits human behaviour in clinical settings. Drawing from real nursing scenarios, it reveals how attackers manipulate trust, routine, and emotion to breach systems, and how nurses—often overlooked in cyber strategy—can become powerful defenders. With practical insights and a call for behavioural training, this talk reframes nurses as essential allies in building human firewalls across healthcare.
In today’s healthcare environments, cyber threats are no longer confined to firewalls and code—they target people. This session explores the concept of “hacking humans” through the lens of nursing, where social engineering tactics exploit trust, urgency, and emotional vulnerability on the clinical frontline. Nurses, often under pressure and deeply embedded in human-centered care, are uniquely susceptible to manipulation techniques such as phishing, impersonation, and baiting. Yet they also hold untapped potential as defenders of digital integrity.
Drawing on real-world scenarios and professional insight, this talk examines how cyber attackers infiltrate healthcare systems by targeting behavioural patterns and exploiting gaps in digital literacy. It highlights the emotional and ethical impact of breaches on nursing staff, the lack of cybersecurity training in clinical education, and the urgent need for interdisciplinary collaboration between IT and healthcare professionals.
By reframing nurses as critical actors in cyber resilience—not just passive targets—this session advocates for a cultural shift in how we prepare and protect frontline staff. Attendees will gain insight into the human factors driving cyber risk in healthcare and leave with practical strategies to empower clinical teams as part of a holistic cybersecurity approach.
With nearly two decades in nursing across both the NHS and private sectors, Emma brings a wealth of hands-on experience to her current role as a forensic nurse in police custody. She’s passionate about the human side of healthcare and increasingly fascinated by how technology and cybersecurity shape patient safety and clinical practice. Emma is committed to bridging the gap between frontline healthcare and digital security, advocating for smarter collaboration and awareness to protect both people and data.