Modernizing healthcare cybersecurity with lessons from the Fortune 500

Many CSOs and CISOs in healthcare have spent their careers rooted in the industry. Heath Taylor, CISO at the St. Charles Health System, breaks that mold entirely. With a background shaped by years in Fortune 500 environments, Taylor brings a fresh, unconventional lens to one of the biggest complexities in healthcare today: cybersecurity.

Taylor’s diverse experience outside of healthcare isn’t just a resume bullet, it’s a strategic edge. He’s known for questioning assumptions, moving fast, and building resilient systems that challenge the slow-moving status quo common in traditional hospital IT environments.

“I’ve seen how tech outside healthcare operates at breakneck speed,” Taylor says. “That pace trains you to think big, act fast, and test ideas relentlessly. When I walked into healthcare, I saw all this potential to do things differently. I don’t just look for tools that work. I look for tools that disrupt.”

Taylor’s current focus is driving innovation at the intersection of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and human-centered security culture. His approach: reimagine what healthcare security can be – not just in theory, but in practice.

Modernization and innovation

Taylor is on a mission to elevate the human element in cybersecurity. At St. Charles, he’s moving from a reactive, compliance-driven mindset to a proactive, engagement-based culture—starting with a bold initiative called Human First.

“We’re preparing to launch the Human First Initiative to embed security awareness into the everyday fabric of St. Charles,” Taylor explains. “The program is built around scenario-based training tailored to specific roles – whether it’s handling patient data, managing devices, or maintaining IAM hygiene.”

He’s also introducing a cybersecurity ambassador program to empower department-level champions. “This isn’t just about teaching people what to do; it’s about building a shared responsibility for security across the organization,” he says.

For Taylor, culture is just as critical as code.

“Tech alone won’t save you,” he says. “Your firewall isn’t your last line of defense. Your people are. Everyone at St. Charles, from the ER nurse to the billing department, is starting to feel they have a role in keeping our patients safe. Security is now part of our DNA.”

And when it comes to building next-generation defenses, Taylor sees AI as essential, not optional.

“We are currently planning for an AI-driven threat intelligence platform that will transform how we identify, alert, and respond to cyber threats,” he says. “The goal is to deploy machine learning that can establish behavioral baselines across our environment. We’re also looking to integrate AI within our SOC, enabling continuous alerting and detection at a speed and scale no human team could match. This takes us from a reactive posture to true predictive prevention.”

The bottom line

With a fearless approach to change and a vision that blends technology, psychology, and strategy, Taylor is transforming how St. Charles protects its systems, people, and patients.

For other cybersecurity leaders navigating similar environments, Taylor offers this advice: “Design your defenses like a startup, not a hospital. Move fast, test often, and be okay breaking things. Healthcare systems are too accustomed to long implementation timelines and rigid tools. The threats aren’t waiting.”

For more, visit Heath Taylor on LinkedIn.