Cybercrime has become a very real and big threat in healthcare. Due to the increased connectivity between various medical devices, the cloud, and clinical systems, they are becoming a primary target for cybercriminals.

Unfortunately, despite their many benefits to both patients and healthcare practitioners, many of the devices feature security flaws and haven’t been developed to spot or eliminate security breaches.

Find out how to protect medical devices from cybersecurity threats.

A Risk Assessment

Unfortunately, medical devices can feature various vulnerabilities, which can pose a serious cybersecurity threat to patients. It is, therefore, essential for medical device manufacturers to embark on a thorough risk assessment, so they can introduce the appropriate security and privacy features to safeguard a device, a patient, and a healthcare organization.

For example, a medical device company must consider who might attempt to tap into a medical device’s vulnerabilities, which could cause serious or fatal harm to a patient. It is imperative for every company to hire expert cybersecurity specialists to perform effective threat assessments and decrease the risk of hacking.

A Safe, User-Friendly PCB Design

As a patient’s quality of life can depend on the quality and security of a medical device, medical device companies must develop safe, user-friendly hardware to prevent misuse. It’s vital to eliminate large and small flaws in a PCB design.

What is PCB? It stands for printed circuit board, which is an electrical circuit that features components and conductors within a mechanical structure of a device. As it is the building block of electronic design, it can serve as the first line of defense against cybercrime.

Perform Regular Security Audits

If a medical device company is aware their devices might be vulnerable to a hacking, they have a responsibility to perform security audits regularly, and to develop and routinely review an incident response plan. For example, they should periodically audit the technology, processes, and people to reduce a risk.

Penetration testing can be an effective approach, as it will require a company to simulate an authorized cyberattack against interconnected devices and systems to identify vulnerabilities.

A Robust Incident Response Plan

Medical companies should assume their devices will experience hacking at some point in their lifetime, which is why they must introduce a robust incident response plan. By doing so, they can quickly respond to a breach to mitigate various risks.

For example, they must know who is responsible for completing an action when a cyber attack occurs, and they must have a plan in place for immediately resuming normal operations to eliminate further threats.

It is also wise to familiarize yourself with the incident response and handling framework recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Conclusion

There is no one-size-fits-all tactic for improving the cybersecurity of medical devices. It also should never be deemed an afterthought, as it could leave your patients and organization vulnerable to a devastating attack.

Medical device companies must consider cybersecurity threats and solutions from product conception and design through to maintenance and support.

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