Improving Medical Device Security Beyond Patching, Traditional Tools

Medical device security was thrust into the spotlight in 2018, as the Food and Drug Administration continued to bolster its cybersecurity program. In fact, an August MedCrypt report found that since the FDA released its cybersecurity guidance in 2016, medical device vendors reported 400 percent more vulnerabilities per quarter.

The increase in disclosures is a sign of growing compliance and maturing security risk assessments – and the hope that healthcare is beginning to move the needle on device security.

Best Practices

• A unified strategy - Biomedical and IT should collaborate on device security.
• Monitor traffic - Watch traffic for any rogue communication.
• Partner with device manufacturers - Getting inside information on what devices should be doing can help identify compromised devices.
• Awareness - Appreciate and accept that different approaches are needed to secure medical devices.

The full Healthcare IT Security article can be viewed at this link.