A paralysed IT system, stolen health data, a false claim that goes viral: health crises also unfold in the digital domain. Protecting patients now means securing both the tools and the information that guides their decisions.

In France alone, 329 security incidents of malicious origin were reported in the healthcare and medico-social sectors in 2024, according to the activity report of the Agence du Numérique en Santé.

In response to this situation and the growing number of security incidents in these sectors, the METRICS congress (7–8 July 2027 in Paris) and Université de la e-Santé, whose twentieth edition takes place on 18–19 November 2026 in Castres, have agreed a partnership.

For the organisers of METRICS (https://www.metrics-summit.org): “This convergence reflects a broad understanding of resilience. That is why our congress examines five families of crises: armed conflicts, financial crises, natural disasters, terrorism and health crises.”

The effects of these crises intersect. A disaster can disrupt care; a health crisis can weaken infrastructure; a cyberattack can impede a healthcare facility’s operations.

Anticipating crises therefore means bringing expertise together and considering continuity of care alongside the protection of the systems that make it possible.

This is the challenge of cybersecurity in healthcare: protecting data and preserving its availability and reliability for care teams. The Université de la e-Santé 2026 programme invites participants to see security as a condition for trust and effective digital healthcare, from the design of tools through to their use.

Interoperability is part of the same requirement. Records that cannot communicate and siloed data make coordination between professionals more difficult.

The round table devoted to this issue will examine the standards and practical experience that enable information sharing.

For crisis management, the stakes are decisive: getting usable data to the right person, in the right form and manner, while controlling access. Discussions on real-time data and AI will extend this reflection.

Sovereignty is another point of convergence. With the presentation of the ASINHPA manifesto and its fifteen actions, followed by a debate on the relationship between sovereignty, security and innovation, the event will address a strategic question: how can we retain control over data and technological choices?

Sovereign hosting, encryption and openness to innovation will be at the heart of the discussions.

For METRICS, this connects with the question of dependencies that may reduce our ability to act when a crisis occurs.

That control must also benefit those who produce and use data.

The conference on the use of data for research and innovation will examine value sharing and the sustainability of the hospital model.

Building resilient digital healthcare means supporting public facilities as well as new services, so that innovation strengthens care capacity over the long term.

Finally, protection also concerns the information that shapes behaviour.

Manuel Ortiz, a commander in the French Air and Space Force citizens’ reserve, will take part in the conference “Health disinformation: a public health threat or a strategic weapon?” He will share his experience of the COVID crisis, when his assignment to the mortuary at Lariboisière Hospital in Paris placed him at the heart of the response.

Manipulation, interference and misleading narratives can undermine trust. Detecting them, and the responses of institutions, platforms and AI, place healthcare within a wider discussion of collective security.

“Université de la e-Santé and METRICS Summit share a common ambition: to better understand vulnerabilities in order to build health systems that are more robust, safer and better prepared,” concludes Yann Peter, Director of Université de la e-Santé and Castres-Mazamet Technopole.

Participants in the Castres event can request a discount code to attend the METRICS congress by emailing [email protected].

Anyone wishing to apply to speak or become a sponsor can contact [email protected].

Official programme: https://universite-esante.com/programme-universite-esante/

Source — Observatory of information-system security incidents in healthcare and medico-social services, public report 2024: https://esante.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/media/document/observatoire-incidents-cybersecurite-sante-2024.pdf