TTA Archives 2005-2012

If you think that sanitizing smartphones and iPads prevents ‘virus problems’ with healthcare technology and devices, look again. Malware has reached seemingly every kind of software used in the hospital setting. At a meeting of a medical-device panel at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, participants documented how viruses have slowed down or stopped everything from fetal monitors used on women with high-risk pregnancies being treated in intensive-care wards to picture archiving systems including those used with MRIs. This was attributed to manufacturers not permitting OS updates or security patches, or even running anti-virus software, in fear of running afoul of FDA device regulation–and the increased connectivity of devices allowing viruses to spread from laptops, smartphones and tablets into the system. Computer Viruses Are “Rampant” on Medical Devices in Hospitals (MIT Technology Review)