Ransomware Attacks a Risk for Medical Devices?

The first documented Ransomware attack on networked medical equipment occurred in May 2017. During the peak of the worldwide Ransomware attack WannaCry, radiological and other instruments in several hospitals were compromised, and cancer patients receiving radiation therapy at four healthcare institutions had to reschedule appointments due to a software failure caused by a cyberattack on a third-party vendor’s oncology cloud service.

These instances demonstrate how cyberattacks and data breaches could have a major impact on the healthcare business, which is highly reliant on linked medical devices. PHI (personal health information) that is acquired and maintained in these connected medical devices must be kept safe. Because PHI is sent via the internet via server-based systems, it is extremely vulnerable to hackers.In recent years, Ransomware attacks against health-care professionals have grown in frequency, sophistication, and severity.

Organized criminal gangs, nation-states, and military groupings have overtaken individual bad actors as the primary perpetrators.Despite their best efforts, law enforcement and the government have been unable to stop the rising tide of attacks on hospital equipment and other critical infrastructure.As Ransomware attacks on healthcare companies become more common, medical device security will become increasingly important. Medical equipment in today’s world is linked to all other connected devices in a hospital or medical care facility.

Sensors included into connected medical equipment capture data that can be transferred to other devices or the Internet.The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is made up of these devices and their data, which aids in the diagnosis, monitoring, and delivery of medicine.The impact of cyberattacks and data breaches on the healthcare industry, which is heavily reliant on networked medical equipment, is demonstrated by these Ransomware attacks on medical devices. Patient health information that is recorded and maintained in these connected medical devices must be kept private.