Combating Cyberthreats To Medical Devices

Executive Briefing

Remediation strategies to reduce patient risk

Breaches of medical devices can cause an interruption in data flow or result in the inoperability or malfunction of the device, which can impede care and threaten a patient’s safety. There is rising concern about the potential vulnerability of network-connected and network-capable devices that communicate with the electronic health record (EHR) and are integral to the entire hospital network. Cyber-risks are changing daily because of new threats. Implementing an effective cybersecurity plan and continuously assessing an organization’s enterprise cybersecurity posture can help mitigate risk of attacks that not only could impact patient care, but also cause financial and reputation damage to a hospital or health system.