NSA guidance available on simple network management protocol 

The National Security Agency has issued guidance on reducing the risk of simple network management protocol abuse. SNMP consists of a standardized framework and common language for monitoring and managing devices in a network. In healthcare, SNMP is used for monitoring medical devices, as well as routers, switches, firewalls or servers. The NSA recommends that organizations use SNMPv3, the most advanced version of simple network management protocol. SNMPv3 is capable of better protecting information such as user IDs, passwords or security tokens than previous versions, which could allow such information to be intercepted by cyber adversaries and gain unauthorized access to devices. 

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at jriggi@aha.org, or Scott Gee, AHA deputy national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at sgee@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.