Medical device cybersecurity provider MedCrypt, Inc. has been selected to participate in Microsoft Azure for Startups, a global program dedicated to accelerating the trajectory of startups through access to a network of technology, mentorship, and business support. As part of its participation, MedCrypt has also launched Guardian, an embedded library that makes it easy to build cryptography, validate integrity, and keep data private, on the Azure Marketplace.
“We’re excited to join the Microsoft Azure Marketplace ecosystem as it is a great avenue for startups to discover technologies and platforms that enable secure innovation,” says Mike Kijewski, CEO of MedCrypt. “The FDA requires manufacturers to include security features into their devices and our collaboration with Microsoft is now making Guardian available to its medical device manufacturing customers, bringing cybersecurity closer to these devices.”
As administrators and operators of medical devices, hospitals must comply with certain Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, security and privacy requirements. Additionally, FDA guidelines also mandate devices to be secured to ensure safety. Both conditions can be met by using encryption.
MedCrypt officails explain that integrating connected medical devices across healthcare poses cybersecurity risks. In response, the FDA has released updates to its premarket cybersecurity guidance and postmarket cybersecurity guidance, which establish expectations related to the design and maintenance of medical devices, they point out.
This collaboration announcement will provide medical device manufacturers with a seamless experience in implementing cryptography in support of those requirements while also furthering MedCrypt’s reach to Microsoft’s existing customer base, MedCrypt officials add.
“We are thrilled to be added to the Microsoft Azure platform, as it’ll help medical device manufacturers adopt and deploy our services more easily, which directly impacts how secure their devices will be,” says Vidya Murthy, chief operating officer at MedCrypt. “Launching on the Azure Marketplace is the next step in enabling more medical device companies to drastically improve their security programs, which is incredibly important given that 53% of connected medical devices and other Internet of things devices in hospitals were found to have known critical vulnerabilities.”
“Customers around the globe are using Microsoft Azure and we are glad to see a partner like MedCrypt deliver a Cryptography API tool to help manufacturers optimize security on medical devices,” adds Sally Frank, worldwide lead for health and life sciences, Microsoft for Startups. “Medical device manufacturers are switching to Azure for product support and having Guardian, MedCrypt’s Cryptography API tool fits a need for the marketplace.”
In early November 2022, MedCrypt announced a $25M Series B funding round, followed by additional investment from Dexcom Ventures in January 2023. The company will use these funds to scale its cryptography, behavior monitoring, and vulnerability management products across various medical devices, such as glucose monitors and other diabetes devices, company officials reveal.
