Technological advancements can at times be a bane. Medical devices linked to the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT) are now quite a double-edged sword. While they effectively enhance the treatment procedure, these devices are exposed to cyber risks.
Any wearable and implantable patient monitoring or therapy device with features like wireless connectivity to alter device functionality and extract patient information can now be hacked.
For instance, in April, the FDA had to issue a Safety Communication to inform the patients about the availability of an additional firmware update to combat with the confirmed cybersecurity risks discovered in Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT – Free Report) implantable cardiac devices along with managing rapid battery depletion.
This is not the only mention of the need to ensure cyber security. A recent survey report by KPMG revealed that around 81% of health care organizations experienced data breach over a two-year period beginning 2015-end (per an article published on 24×7). Going by the same article, medical device threats are ranked as a top information security issue by around one-third of industry executives.
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