Pioneering healthcare IoT and medical device cybersecurity specialist, Cylera, has appointed a new chief operating officer.

Geyer Jones has been appointed COO as the firm, which has its UK base in Cheltenham, looks to build on its success in the UK and U.S. healthcare sectors.

Last year, in the UK, an attack against the National Health Services' key patient telephone service, NHS 111, led to major disruption to patient care services such as ambulance dispatch, out-of-hours appointments and emergency prescriptions.

In the U.S., 2022 saw in excess of 600 healthcare providers attacked, including the significant ransomware attack against CommonSpirit Health, the U.S.'s second largest healthcare provider.

The increase in attacks and usage of IoT medical devices has led to demands from healthcare CEOs, heads of hospital IT, and boards of directors, for improved cybersecurity controls to better protect patient safety and the resiliency of healthcare IT and IoT systems needed by hospitals.

Cylera's patented technology protects entire connected healthcare IoT environments and helps to solve the complex technological and operational cybersecurity challenges faced by 21st Century hospitals today.

Geyer Jones' appointment as COO will see him work closely with Cylera's senior management team. He will oversee the strategic planning and operational direction of the firm as the cybersecurity specialist looks to secure its foothold in the UK and U.S. markets, and as it continues to expand into new territories.

Geyer will be responsible for leading and scaling the company's growth and go-to market teams, while also ensuring that the company has the business model, assets and services in place to serve customers, scale the business and provide the right environment for employees to grow and thrive.

Geyer Jones said: "I've joined Cylera at an exciting point in its growth strategy. Hospital networks are becoming increasingly complex with tens of thousands more medical devices coming online over the next couple of years which are essential to critical patient care and diagnostics.

"As hospitals experience rapid digitalisation to streamline, fast track and improve patient care, this is increasing attack surfaces and potential vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure.

"Cylera continues to do things the right way by focusing on customer outcomes, delivering sustainable growth by continually testing the market, and by making sure its products and services are ready to deliver solutions which are needed by its customers."

Geyer brings with him a wealth of experience, leading various business and operations functions across cybersecurity companies with managed services, enterprise software and SaaS businesses.

Before joining Cylera, he was an executive in residence at Scale Venture Partners. Prior to joining Scale, he was chief strategy officer at RSA, sitting on the team that led RSA's divestiture from Dell, resulting in STG's $2.1b acquisition. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions at Symantec and Riptech, helping grow its MSS business from $15m to over $150m.

Geyer's appointment comes as recent reports highlight the desperate cybersecurity challenges facing those working in the healthcare sector, globally. In the UK, one report found that healthcare settings were experiencing over 785 cyber-attacks a week - a 69% increase from the year before.