Brad Gallagher, co-leader of the Health Care Controversies and Pharmacy Teams, was featured in the Infectious Disease Special Edition article “Keep Cybersecurity Top of Mind,” which was originally published by Specialty Pharmacy Continuum. The article is the result of a session Brad co-presented at Asembia’s AXS26 Summit, where he spoke about the growing cybersecurity risks facing pharmacies and the importance of proactive preparation.
Brad emphasized that effective cybersecurity planning extends beyond preventing attacks. “At Barclay Damon, we focus on helping our clients prevent attacks. But if an attack occurs, we want to make sure any data a bad actor accesses is encrypted,” he said, noting that whether a cybersecurity incident triggers reporting obligations depends on the specific facts and should be evaluated with legal counsel.
He also outlined key response priorities following a cyberattack, advising pharmacy leaders to take affected systems offline within an hour, engage legal counsel immediately, and determine within 24 hours whether protected health information (PHI) was accessed or compromised.
Addressing one of the most common cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Brad stressed the need for ongoing employee training and testing. “Sending a generic email once a year and requiring a 30-minute training is not enough,” he said. “Random testing of employees to see who is recognizing threats and who may need additional guidance is critical to understanding risk.”
Brad’s commentary reinforced a central theme of his session at AXS26: pharmacies must treat cybersecurity as an ongoing operational priority, combining technical safeguards, incident response planning, and employee awareness to reduce risk and protect sensitive patient information.
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