UltraSPECT’s New Ultra-Secured Gateway Delivers Impenetrable Defense Against Cybercriminals Seeking to Breach Nuke Med Systems

AUBURNDALE, MASS. — December 7, 2017 — UltraSPECT Inc., a leading provider of image reconstruction solutions supporting safer and faster nuclear cardiology and oncology exams, today announced the availability of a new add-on capability that vigorously protects nuclear imaging operations against every manner of breach, from basic malware to advanced persistent threats posed by the most determined hackers and cybercriminals.

UltraSPECT will offer the add-on — called Ultra-Secured Gateway, or USG — with all new installations of its hardware/software platform, UltraSPECT.gate. The company will also offer USG as an upgrade to current users of the platform, which employs UltraSPECT’s proprietary and innovative Wide-Beam Reconstruction (WBR™) algorithms to markedly improve the clarity of molecular-imaging exams while significantly reducing radiation dose to patients.

To develop the USG technology, UltraSPECT partnered with a top cybersecurity firm in Israel and closely followed recommendations as well as regulations propounded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Department of Defense.

In preparing USG for the market, UltraSPECT’s product-development team rigorously tested and validated all relevant components. The team performed all Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) validations called for by the National Vulnerability Database, hardening and securing both operating system codes and software applications used to run UltraSPECT’s Xpress.Cardiac, Xpress3.Cardiac and Xpress/Xact.Bone image-reconstruction products. Further, they implemented the most advanced whitelist security methods available and integrated McAfee application control software.

“At UltraSPECT we are well aware of the sharp rise in cyberattacks on healthcare IT networks in general and particularly on sensitive medical equipment,” said Yossi Srour, UltraSPECT president and CEO, upon announcing the availability of USG. “We are committed to ensuring our customers' confidence in our products to be not only clinically outstanding and operationally efficient but also impenetrably secure.”

Srour is not overstating the threat. A 2016 study by the Ponemon Institute showed nearly three-quarters of malware attacks on healthcare organizations involve ransomware. The study also showed the average cost of a security breach is $3.7 million, the average number of days it takes to detect a breach is 146 days — and the average time it takes for a phishing email to be clicked is just 82 seconds after it's sent.

“In healthcare, we have to be constantly mindful of how sensitive patients’ personal data is — and how much damage can be done to people’s lives, not to mention providers’ budgets, if that information falls into the wrong hands,” said Don Widener, UltraSPECT’s vice president of sales. “At the same time, healthcare professionals need fast access to both that very data and the digital tools that help them do their jobs to the best of their ability. We never lost sight of what’s at stake for all affected parties as we were developing USG for our existing and future customers.”

UltraSPECT has been providing image reconstruction solutions supporting safer and faster nuclear cardiology and oncology exams since 2006. It has 550 installations supporting more than 800 SPECT cameras across the U.S., including known luminary university hospitals and Healthcare facilities throughout the state.

For more information about the UltraSPECT technologies and reducing dose in nuclear medicine, visit ultraspect.com or call 1-888-WBR-SCAN (1-888-927-7226).

About UltraSPECT

UltraSPECT Inc. is the only provider of image reconstruction solutions that support safer and faster nuclear medicine imaging with the ability for better diagnostic capabilities and higher diagnostic confidence. Based on proprietary, innovative Wide-Beam Reconstruction (WBR™) algorithms, UltraSPECT products continue to be the most cost-effective dose-reduction solutions available to simultaneously lower radiation dose, shorten acquisition times and increase diagnostic quality. Healthcare facilities of all sizes maximize value from the ability to leverage the investment in existing nuclear medicine cameras - regardless of the manufacturer, model and age. Moreover, UltraSPECT solutions enable healthcare facilities to meet the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) low-dose guidelines. UltraSPECT image reconstruction products are approved by the FDA, as well as numerous regulatory authorities in hundreds of leading nuclear medicine imaging centers around the world. For more information, visit http://ultraspect.com.