The Internet of Things (IoT) has made having access to a variety of analytics and data easier than ever. In the healthcare world, IoT-enabled devices enhance monitoring and diagnosis and help patients secure proper treatment in a way that was previously almost unimaginable.
However, with this increased ease of connectivity and data collection comes potentially significant vulnerabilities that can not only compromise patient data and safety, but disrupt a range of connected medical devices as well. By taking steps to understand and resolve these vulnerabilities head-on, healthcare practitioners and IT administrators alike are able to safeguard vital patient data while upholding crucial security across the network.
What are Some of the Most Common IoT Vulnerabilities in Healthcare?
Some of the most common healthcare IoT vulnerabilities aren’t specific to a single brand or type of connected medical device. They include:
Weak Authentication Credentials
Many IoT devices are deployed with default, or easy-to-guess credentials, like admin/admin. This makes the process of gaining unauthorized control easy for attackers, leading to data breaches or unauthorized control over the devices themselves.
Lack of Encryption
Data that’s sent between IoT devices and healthcare systems is often sent unencrypted, which has the potential to expose sensitive patient information. This information can be intercepted and tampered with, which can in turn lead to unauthorized access.
Outdated Firmware and Software
Healthcare organizations may struggle to keep devices updated due to operational constraints. This means even if an exploit is well-known, vulnerabilities can go unpatched over time.
Insecure Device Configurations
Devices set up with the default configuration may not always align with security best practices, which can increase the risk of data breaches.
Lack of Device Lifecycle Management
Without proper management throughout their lifecycle, IoT products can be neglected which makes them easy targets for tampering.
What are the Risks Associated with IoT Vulnerabilities?
IoT vulnerabilities carry a number of risks—some of them severe, which may include:
Data Breaches
Attackers can gain access to private and sensitive patient data, which can in turn lead to identity theft, fraud, and other patient privacy violations.
Ransomware Attacks
Attackers may encrypt patient data and demand a ransom for its release. This has the potential to severely disrupt healthcare operations and, at worse, may endanger patient lives.
Device Manipulation
IoT devices that have been compromised can be altered to malfunction, risking patient health and safety.
How Can Cylera Help Address These Issues?
Cylera is a full suite of monitoring systems and tools designed to help healthcare IT professionals address these vulnerabilities while enhancing the security of IoT devices across the board. Cylera’s main features include:
Detailed Device Inventory and Management
Cylera enables ongoing discovery, tracking, and management of healthcare IoT and IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) devices, offering detailed visibility into the attack surface while making it easier for administrators to manage vulnerabilities.
Risk-Based Prioritization
Save time and money through Cylera’s actionable prioritization of threats based on potential impact. This feature allows IT teams to focus on the most critical risks first, before they become more widespread.
Regular Patch Management
Cylera establishes protocols for regular patch updates to IoT device firmware and software.
Network Segmentation
By dividing the network into segments, Cylera limits the spread of potential attacks, ensuring that even if a device is compromised, it doesn’t give attackers the vectors they need to access the entire system.
Device Network Authentication
Cylera can also, through a combination of its native platform capabilities and its integrations with leading firewall and network access and control (NAC) solutions, help ensure only authorized IoT devices can interact on the network. In this scenario, the Cylera platform uses machine learning (ML) and behavioral analysis to analyze the behavior of devices on the network and build device models based on normal device communication patterns. Once Cylera creates these device models, the Cylera platform’s policy generation engine automatically generates IoT device security policies that enable Cylera to continuously monitor device behavior and generate alerts when device behavioral abnormalities are detected.
Through integrations, Cylera can also forward the generated IoT device security policies to firewall and NAC solutions. These solutions can then use the policies generated by Cylera to enable network segmentation to ensure that only authorized IoT devices are allowed on the appropriate network segment, or subnet.
Integration with Existing Systems
Cylera integrates seamlessly with other security tools, including vulnerability management tools, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools, IT Service Management (ITSM) tools, medical device Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), and firewall and network access management tools, which enhances the organization's overall security posture without needing to significantly change the existing infrastructure.
Ongoing Monitoring
The platform continuously observes network traffic and device activity to establish baseline behavior patterns. By tracking normal communication and operational metrics, it can identify deviations that may signal potential security threats. Alerts are generated for unusual activity, enabling swift detection and response.
Compliance and Reporting
Cylera also generates detailed compliance reports while ensuring adherence to regulatory frameworks like HIPAA, the NIST 2.0 framework, and the HHS CPGs in the U.S. and NIS2, the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF), the Data Security and Protection Tool Kit (DSPT), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Data Protection Act in the UK. This in turn bolsters audits while solidifying compliance measures.
The reliance on IoT devices will only continue to grow as devices become more and more integrated and interoperable. Everything from patient monitors, infusion pumps, imaging systems, and even diagnostic tools are quickly becoming connected as part of the IoT. This results in significant advances for patient care, but only when approached with an eye on security management and compliance.
Getting Started with Cylera
Cylera is trusted by healthcare facilities, clinics, and hospitals around the world, offering proactive discovery, monitoring, and safety through its protocols and processes. By using Cylera, healthcare facilities enjoy:
- An 89% improvement in healthcare IoT asset discovery, inventory and risk score accuracy
- A 67% reduction in threats, alerts and mitigation workloads
- A 61% improvement in audit preparation and compliance evidence
- A 74% savings realized and applied to other care delivery initiatives
We invite you to take a tour of what’s possible with Cylera through a personalized, one-on-one demo.
By working with Cylera, healthcare organizations can improve their cyber resilience by quickly identifying and isolating compromised devices to maintain patient safety and operational integrity. More secure devices mean more accurate diagnostics and uninterrupted patient care.
At the same time, automated device management through integrated systems like Cylera reduces the time spent on manual inventory and monitoring tasks, freeing up healthcare facilities to concentrate on better patient care.
Through Cylera’s healthcare-specific approach to securing IoT and IoMT devices and using features like detailed asset visibility, threat detection, and zero-trust frameworks, the ability to secure and maintain devices has never been easier. Cylera’s actionable risk prioritization and always-on monitoring systems integrate easily with existing security and healthcare systems, helping to safeguard the future of connected healthcare.
