Full Breakdown
Clalit Health Services Teams with Check Point to Secure AI-Driven Care for 5 Million Israelis
By Drooid · · How we work
Background: Escalating Cyber Threats in Israeli Healthcare
A ransomware incident at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center prompted tighter Ministry of Health regulations, highlighting the tension between rapid AI adoption by clinicians and the growing vulnerability of digital health infrastructure.
Core Partnership Details
Clalit and cybersecurity firm Check Point announced a multimillion-shekel strategic partnership aimed at creating a security gateway that enables the health fund to expand AI use while safeguarding patient data. The collaboration targets four objectives: securing AI adoption across the organization, unifying an AI gateway for healthcare, reducing cyber risk amid ongoing exposure, and protecting Clalit’s digital workspace. The partnership will serve a system that provides care to roughly five million Israelis. Check Point will retain intellectual-property rights to the platform with plans to commercialize it, while Clalit asserts that patient data will remain within its own environment.
Key Figures
- Prof. Eytan Wirtheim – CEO of Clalit Health Services.
- Adam Ely – General Manager, AI Security at Check Point.
- Avivit Kotler – Chief Information Security Officer, Clalit.
- Nadav Zafrir – CEO of Check Point.
Official Statements & Responses
Clalit emphasizes that the AI gateway will enforce privacy rules and “guardrails” to prevent clinicians from inadvertently exposing patient information through public AI tools such as ChatGPT. The system is also designed to monitor autonomous AI agents—e.g., appointment-scheduling bots—and block anomalous data-exfiltration attempts in real time. Check Point frames the initiative as an opportunity to develop and deploy technology at scale within a large-population health system, positioning cybersecurity as essential infrastructure for advanced AI adoption.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Artificial intelligence opens up possibilities for us that did not exist until today to improve medicine, diagnosis, and patient service,” — Prof. Eytan Wirtheim, CEO of Clalit Health Services
- “For us, information security is not a limitation on innovation- it is the condition that allows us to move forward faster and responsibly.” — Adam Ely, General Manager, AI Security at Check Point
- “The only information Check Point sees is metadata; they have absolutely no access to our patients' data,” — Avivit Kotler
The partnership reflects a broader shift in Israeli healthcare toward integrating generative AI while confronting heightened cyber threats, aiming to balance innovation with stringent data protection for millions of patients.