Rapid advances in technology have been a boon to the medical device industry. They’ve also sparked growing concern that those devices can be hacked.
Devices from hospital-room infusion pumps to pacemakers use wireless internet and network connectivity. Researchers and hackers have shown that networked devices — including some approved by the Food and Drug Administration — can be vulnerable to threats. Just last month, two cybersecurity experts made headlines when they said they had found security weaknesses in Medtronic pacemakers that made them hackable.
Now, the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services is urging the FDA to do more to protect patients from cyberthreats.
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