Miami-based MedSec, a healthcare-focused cybersecurity company, announced a multi-year contract with UVA Health in Virginia. Under the contract, MedSec has deployed its cybersecurity platform, MedScan, across the UVA Health enterprise to protect medical devices from cyber threats and enhance security for their patients. MedScan works by monitoring thousands of life-critical devices in hospitals.
UVA Health’s decision to improve its defenses comes in the wake of FBI warnings in late 2020 that cybercriminals unleashed waves of extortion attempts against U.S. hospitals. The warning specifically identified the vulnerability of medical devices as points-of-entry for cybercriminals.
“UVA Health recognizes the growing threats against healthcare organizations, and they’re responding by implementing MedScan,” says Justine Bone, MedSec’s CEO. “They are adopting a system-wide approach to monitoring medical devices for security threats. It is a testament to the health system’s top prioritization of patient safety. We’re proud to partner with organizations like UVA Health that are leading by example.”
MedSec is unique, concentrating solely on cybersecurity for healthcare focusing on the specific vulnerabilities of medical devices. Working for years directly with medical device manufacturers, MedSec built MedScan to identify, track, monitor, and protect medical devices by producing real-time alerts that notify cybersecurity first responders when suspicious activity occurs.
MedScan monitors for threats, and it alerts cybersecurity professionals without impacting the operation of the devices in any way. MedScan goes beyond cybersecurity. It continuously updates device inventories and utilization, so that hospitals can predict how many devices they need. This became an acute challenge for many hospitals during peak times of last year’s virus outbreak and continues to be a challenge to optimize medical device fleet utilization.
“The basics of healthcare cybersecurity are changing as patient care and safety becomes increasingly dependent on medical device technology” adds MedSec’s CEO. “Cybersecurity demands knowing which assets the organization needs to protect and minimize who has access to those devices. And that’s precisely what MedScan is doing for UVA Health.”
