If your personal device is hacked, it’s likely to be upsetting, but not dangerous.

With connected devices expected to reach 50 billion by 2020, according to "Device Democracy - Saving the Future of the Internet of Things", it is anticipated that 40% of those devices will be health-related, according to "Medical Internet of Things and Big Data in Healthcare". Insulin pumps, CPAP machines, pacemakers and oxygen tanks are a few of the critical pieces of medical devices connected to the internet. These medical devices provide patients access to real-time information and benefits to their health without being confined to a facility or the wait time associated with it. Healthcare professionals can adjust the devices from afar without scheduling five-minute, in-person appointments just to make a small adjustment. With these conveniences, come potential points of risks – with the patient’s life on the line.

Accruent has developed MDSA (Medical Device Security Analyzer), a solution for managing and mitigating the cybersecurity risk specific to medical devices.

Based on three key areas, MDSA has a proven approach to battling cybersecurity.

1. Prepare

No one can prepare fully for a cybersecurity attack. They can happen at any time and in general, you don’t receive a warning. However, healthcare organizations can prepare for them. By developing a risk assessment formula geared towards each of the devices and equipment, organizations can identify potential security risks and calculate risk score/level for each device. The outcome of these formulas is a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These SOPs can be recorded in MDSA to ensure that all medical devices are configured consistently to reduce cybersecurity risk and to allow for the identification of the most at-risk equipment.

2. Protect

Investing in a cybersecurity solution is not the end of cybersecurity. If that were the case, we would never see any more hacks. There are more steps involved in order to maximize on your investment fully. Run-time monitoring and remediation of cybersecurity events/alarms should be taken into consideration as they ensure that the most critical equipment and threats are addressed in a timely manner.

3. Progress

As more devices become connected, cybersecurity criminals are getting smarter. In order to protect your devices, it is important to evaluate and improve your medical equipment cybersecurity program on a continuous basis.

Bank accounts, credit cards and identities have been compromised for decades now, and medical device corruption is most likely to become the next big thing. It is up to healthcare organizations to invest in a quality solution that provides not only the insights of the medical device security risk, but the ability to evolve as threats and needs change.

Learn more about Medical Device Security and how we are simplifying the process. Mitigate cybersecurity risk with MDSA, get in touch with us today.