Why Cybersecurity Must be Part of Medical Device Architecture

Medical devices are no longer a stand-alone component in the healthcare ecosystem. More and more devices are network-connected, which often involves interaction through websites and the transmission of sensitive data through wireless components.   Network-connected medical devices promise an entirely new level of value for patients and doctors, but they also introduce new cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could affect clinical operations and put patient care at risk.   Medical device risk management processes need to be revamped to properly identify security vulnerabilities and include countermeasures to mitigate threats. This is no easy undertaking, as cybersecurity in medical devices is a multifaceted problem involving disparate factors. The complexity of cybersecurity along with the recent increase in cyberattacks in healthcare-related industries underscores the need for incorporating cybersecurity early in medical device design and development. Threats vs. Vulnerabilities Threat and vulnerability have often been used interchangeably when referring to cybersecurity, but they are not the same. A threat is a malicious action performed by a cyber actor to manipulate computer systems, steal data, or encrypt data and demand ransom for its release. A vulnerability is a weakness in a network, endpoint, device, or operating system that can be discovered and exploited to carry out a threat.   Preventing cybersecurity threats entirely is not possible. The focus of security me...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Software Regulatory and Compliance Source Type: news