When a hospital’s connected devices are compromised, it’s more than just data or dollars at risk — it’s patient lives. In recent years, operational technology (OT) devices, such as infusion pumps, ventilators and imaging systems, have become essential to clinical operations. Unfortunately, flaws in these devices and the broader networks they connect to continue to expose hospitals to devastating attacks.
Recent discoveries of vulnerabilities in Siemens and Advantech devices underscore the risks hospitals face. Siemens imaging and control systems were found to contain flaws that could let attackers bypass authentication or crash equipment. Advantech’s widely deployed industrial and IoT platforms had remote code execution vulnerabilities that researchers confirmed could be exploited. These are the same kinds of devices embedded in hospital environments, forming the backbone of patient monitoring, building management and medical imaging.
Vulnerabilities open the door to devastating ransomware attacks. During the DCH Health ransomware event, ambulances were diverted from critical care…
