Real World Impact of Medical Device Security

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TechSpective Podcast Episode 116

Getting hacked sucks in all scenarios. In most cases, though, getting hacked is an inconvenience. In some cases, it is deadly. Having your data stolen, or getting your computer bricked by ransomware is annoying. Getting a medical device like an insulin pump hacked might kill you.

Christopher Gates, Director of Product Security at Velentium, joins me on this episode to talk about medical device security and the differences between cybersecurity in general and securing medical devices or OT equipment in general. Chris notes, “Anything that is an operational technology–OT–means it has a real-world consequence to it. It’s not a virtualized, ‘They stole my identity,’ ‘They stole my money,’ ‘They prevented me from doing my business’–it has real-world consequences to it.”

He would know, too. Christopher has built his career promoting the concepts of a security total product lifecycle–an approach designed to ease the burden on developers and ensure high-quality products that work as intended to save and improve lives without putting patients at risk. He co-authored “Medical Device Cybersecurity for Engineers and Manufacturers,” and he has developed a student-paced certificate training program to instruct medical device engineers with the goal of elevating them to be experts in all aspects of medical device cybersecurity.

Check out the full episode for more on the security product lifecycle and the importance of baking security into embedded systems, OT equipment, and–crucially–medical devices. The podcast itself is audio-only, but the video of our conversation is also available on YouTube if you prefer:

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