Medical Device Security Threat Predictions for 2018

Last November Kapersky Labs made some medical device security predictions for 2018 on their SecureList security bulletin. Kapersky has forgotten more about security than I know, but my understanding of health care and the medical device world allows me to offer some perspective and corrections to Kapersky's predictions. Let's review the relevant predictions: Attacks targeting medical equipment with the aim of extortion, malicious disruption or worse, will rise. The volume of specialist medical equipment connected to computer networks is increasing.  Many such networks are private, but one external Internet connection can be enough for attackers to breach and spread their malware through the ‘closed’ network. Targeting equipment can disrupt care and prove fatal – so the likelihood of the medical facility paying up is very high. I will bow to Kapersky's grasp of the threat environment, and there is a growing number of network connected medical devices. However there are some quibbles with the details. Their perception of the risks are both greater and less than they suggest. A large majority of networks with connected medical devices are connected to the Internet; there are few truly private networks in hospitals or other care delivery organizations — this increases risk. Hacked medical devices are a problem, and theoretically this can present a safety-critical risk. But I have yet to see a documented case of a patient injury or death reported that is attributed to a h...
Source: Medical Connectivity Consulting - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Data Security cybercriminal cybersecurity ransomware Source Type: blogs