5 tips to thwart medical device attacks

Medical devices can be an easy gateway for hackers to steal valuable information. This advice will lower the risk of that happening. For those who do manage medical device security internally, experts offer this advice:

Invest in deception tech

Carolyn Crandall, chief deception officer for security company Attivo Networks, says, “Healthcare IT teams need tools in their arsenal that not only defend the network perimeter but also help them detect and respond to in-network threats quickly, efficiently, and effectively.” These tools, of course, include a technology Attivo sells: deception software.

Don’t be so quick to dismiss Crandall’s advice just because she’s a vendor. “Deception is an emerging security control driven by the need to reduce attacker dwell time,” she explains, adding that the average U.S. hack remains undetected for 100 days. Some hospitals use next-gen firewalls for protection, she continues, “but these [are] centered on signature or database look-up” and don’t protect against credential harvesting. As DiPietro pointed out, once hackers have the right credentials, they can waltz right through.

Deception tech, Crandall explains, creates an “endpoint where deceptive credentials and bait are strategically placed to entice an attacker into harvesting them.” This, she says, sets up a trap for security teams to catch medical device hacks before they happen.

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