Recent reports suggest that individuals with mental health issues are turning to artificial intelligence for help. ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, is being used to assist individuals who are struggling and unable to find licensed mental health professionals. The ChatGPT is a large language model that can provide advice on the surface that may appear to be from a trained therapist.
However, mental health experts caution individuals from relying on AI-driven solutions in lieu of traditional counseling. Stephen Ilardi, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Kansas, warns that for people with serious mental illnesses, ChatGPT should not replace a licensed professional. He adds that there are limited ways an AI chatbot can meaningfully address emotion, and cautions of the potential risk of shared confidential information becoming public.
Cybersecurity incidents in the US healthcare sector have been on the rise in recent months. New England-based Point32Health recently discovered that a ransomware attack had impacted a number of their systems. To contain the threat, the healthcare organization quickly took certain systems offline and notified their members, accounts, broker, and regulator partners. The attack appears to have been part of a larger trend of health-care specific attacks for two main reasons – the critical nature of waiting business operations, as well as the resource that can be gained through the exposed personal identifiable information of patients and providers.
Roy Akerman, Co-Founder & CEO of Rezonate, also commented on this trend. He believes that the same well-worn techniques used by leading ransomware groups are likely to be the same ones used in the attack on Point32Health.
Webster Bank, located in Connecticut, recently fell victim to a data breach. The incident transpired through a third-party fraud detection vendor, Guardian Analytics, and led to the publication of over 150,000 customers’ personal information. Fortunately, Webster Bank was able to reassure customers that none of their internal systems had been compromised in the breach.
The headlines have been buzzing about Israeli spyware maker Qua Dream as well. QuaDream’s spyware tool, dubbed “Reign”, was recently reported to have been utilized by governments to illegally surveil journalists, dissidents, and advocacy groups. It is not entirely certain why QuaDream is shutting down, though recent publicity about the spyware industry may have been a part of the financial trouble faced by the company. QuaDream’s board of directors is reportedly attempting to sell off intellectual property as the staff has been reduced to just a few employees over recent months.
