The Unique Cyber Vulnerabilities of Medical Devices

Medical data, rich in sensitive personal information, is very lucrative to cyber attackers who can misuse it to create fake IDs or file fraudulent insurance claims. The medical sector has exhibited poor data safety, with 90% of hospitals being victims of cyber attacks in recent years. Most of these attacks are facilitated through IoT devices. The average medical device has 6.2 vulnerabilities and more than 40% are end-of-life, without regular security upgrades. The definition of a medical device is also expanding to include software systems. The FDA has implemented rules to address these vulnerabilities.