PROTECTION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT IN HOSPITALS

Manufacturers of medical technology are developing new, highly sophisticated and increasingly interconnected products. These products offer a wide range of benefits: improved treatment, more accurate diagnostics, better patient monitoring, automated management, central reporting and data collection. However, this increased connectivity carries risks for both patients and healthcare providers. Despite intensive investments in the development of new healthcare technologies, we often encounter neglect of the IT security side of these products. As a result, there are a number of devices that hackers can easily attack. Hackers often have detailed information about the devices they are targeting and have sophisticated tools and skills that can be used to develop attacks.

The US FDA’s Cyber Security Agency provides guidance to medical device manufacturers, including:

• Restriction of unauthorized access to medical devices
• Disable all unnecessary ports and services

Obviously, adherence to security guidelines is important, which is why SmartKeeper provides a solution for the physical security of medical equipment in the healthcare sector against theft, misuse or attack by hackers.