Precision medicine demands smart cybersecurity—and don’t overlook the imaging data

An online magazine of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) is running an op-ed advising healthcare cybersecurity experts, along with the clinical departments whose data they protect, to implement a plan that covers “all smart, connected devices to safeguard patient privacy and data integrity.”

“In most cases, hackers see limited value in breaking into a genetic sequencer or medical imaging devices, so individual devices are not specifically targeted,” the authors explain in Signal. “However, these devices can be vulnerable to software and data corruption even if they are not the primary target of an attack.”

No device ever is 100 percent secure, they add, but medical device developers who integrate cybersecurity throughout their development process “will be well-prepared to address and mitigate potential data security risks.”

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Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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