12. Innovative Toolkit to Assess and Mitigate Cyber Threats in the Healthcare Sector

Abstract

Cybersecurity is an increasingly critical aspect of healthcare information technology infrastructure. Nowadays, the rapid digitization of healthcare delivery, from electronic health records and telehealth (eHealth services) to mobile health (mHealth) and network-enabled medical devices, introduces risks related to cybersecurity vulnerabilities that are particularly worrisome because cyberattacks in a healthcare setting may result in the exposure of highly sensitive personal information, cause disruptions in clinical care, or affect the safety of patients, for example, by compromising the integrity of data or impairing medical device functionality. The threat is real and growing in tandem with the pace of the healthcare industry digitization [1]. Yet, cybersecurity capacities currently remain behind the pressing needs, lagging the robust pace of adoption of digital networks by threat actors. This discontinuity places the multitrillion-euro healthcare sector at risk of even more significant cyberattacks. A new generation of cybersecurity tools, specifically designed for the healthcare domain, takes on the challenge of surpassing that discontinuity

Cyber-Situational Awarenss in Clinical Trials Using Wearable Device Technology

“…While healthcare and research organizations may adopt firmware to combat attacks, reliability, and consistency with the strength of security remains a challenge as outdated software or previous patches may create holes in the cyber shield (Manso et al, 2020). Toolkits, such as the SPHINX Toolkit, aim to provide transparency as to the research and organizational staff awareness of possible security threats and possible risks with visualizations and alerts as part of a wearable device's initial integration within the clinical trial/organizational operating system for data downloads (Manso et al, 2020). Automated cyber security toolkits, such as SPHINX, create awareness for research staff such that staff may act as another line of protection for participant data.…”