Hospitals and healthcare systems have become a major target for hackers. The recent announcement that LifeLabs, Canada’s largest medical testing company, paid a ransom to retrieve the data of 15 million patients is just the latest in a string of cyber attacks aimed at stealing data or extracting money from healthcare organizations. Read more in CMAJ.
cybersecurity
Cybersecurity for the travelling scientist
Virtual private networks, tracking apps and ‘burner’ laptops: how to protect sensitive data when you take your research on the road. Mark Gerstein has had his fair share of scares when it comes to losing track of his electronic devices — and, along with them, access to his private information and research data. “I’m very […]
‘Ransomware’ cyberattack highlights vulnerability of universities
Staff at Canadian university given little guidance on how to mitigate future problems. The first Patrick Feng knew about a cyberattack on his university was when one of his colleagues told him that her computer had been infected by hackers and rendered unusable. Feng, who studies technology and sustainability policy at the University of Calgary […]
Stronger rules needed for medical device cybersecurity
Experts say that health systems in the USA and other countries are not prepared for cybersecurity threats and existing and draft regulations are weak. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) latest draft guidelines for post-market management of cybersecurity risks in medical devices are a good start, but need to be given greater force to […]