Unsecured technology can leave hospitals exposed: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Some of the technology used in hospitals these days is incredibly impressive, but do those computerized systems lead to vulnerabilities?

Critical devices and systems are still exposed in many hospitals — perhaps 80,000 worldwide at any given time, says Greg Young, vice president of cybersecurity at Trend Micro.

The company is sharing that disturbing finding in its new report, called Securing Connected Hospitals.

READ: Trend Micro Report

 

“Part of the challenge with health care and other industries, is that devices that weren’t smart, are now smart, and need patching, need protecting,” explains Young. “MRI devices, other medical care devices, those are now part of the envelope that can be attacked. This Internet of things means more connectivity, and in health care that’s a greater exposure.”

This suggests those responsible for hospital cybersecurity haven’t learned after last year’s massive WannaCry cyberattack, which affected more than 200,000 computers. The ransomware targeted computers that ran Microsoft Windows by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments using Bitcoin.

“Any new kinds of platforms always bring with them new kinds of vulnerabilities,” says Young. “Any connectivity to the cloud — many organizations unfortunately treat the cloud like it has some magic built-in security. It doesn’t. You have to secure it, just like it’s your own network or your own computers.”

If there is one positive from a Canadian perspective in this report, Young says hospital cybersecurity in this country is strong when compared to other parts of the world.

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