What security problems did the U.S. FDA find in medical devices? | DENENA | POINTS
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What security problems did the U.S. FDA find in medical devices?

Fda

U.S. government agencies have been scrambling to improve cybersecurity in medical devices and other medical technologies in the wake of the revelation by hacker Barnaby Jack that he had proof the devices could be compromised. Our Houston medical device defect lawyers note that the hacker in question subsequently met a mysterious death. Some of the problems found by government analysts and others include:

  • Uncontrolled distribution of passwords, disabled passwords, hard-coded passwords for software intended for privileged device access such as to administrative, technical, and maintenance personnel;
  • Malware infection or actual disabling of network-connected/configured medical devices;
  • Malware on hospital computers, smartphones and tablets targeting mobile devices using wireless technology to access patient data, monitoring systems, and implanted patient devices such as cardiac defibrillators;
  • Security vulnerabilities in off-the-shelf software designed to prevent unauthorized device or network access, including plain-text or no authentication, hard-coded passwords, documented service accounts in service manuals, and poor coding/SQL injection; and/or
  • Failure to provide timely security software updates and patches to medical devices and networks and to address related vulnerabilities in older medical device models.

The Houston medical device defect lawyers at Denena Points, PC emphasize that our increasing reliance on technology and the rising trend for technological tampering by malicious individuals intending to cause harm or obtain attention puts us all at risk. Click the link to learn more about the security vulnerabilities that could compromise the medical devices implanted in you, your friends, or your loved ones.