Two US House representatives have introduced a new bill looking to protect medical devices from the increasing risk of cyberattacks according to a DOTmed report.
Representatives Dave Trott (R-Mich) and Susan Brooks (R-Ind) introduced the Internet of Medical Things Resilience Partnership Act, which opposes a partnership between public and private stakeholders to create guidelines to prevent cyberattacks against medical devices which are becoming more common.
“Bad actors are not only looking to access sensitive information, but they are also trying to manipulate device functionality. This can lead to life-threatening cyberattacks on devices ranging from monitors and infusion pumps to ventilators and radiological technologies. As the number of connected medical devices continues to grow, so does the urgency to establish guidelines for how to prevent these kinds of dangerous attacks,” Rep. Brooks said in a statement, DOTmed reports.
The proposal would pull together members of groups including the FDA, National Institute of Standards and Technology as well as members of academia and the medical device industry to create a centralized set of guidelines and standards.
The group would also identify and find solutions for high priority issues, according to the report.
“Management of potential cybersecurity threats is a shared responsibility among all stakeholders, including manufacturers, hospitals, health care professionals, patients, regulators and IT developers. Having stakeholders work together on these important issues will continue to build on the collaborative work that has already been accomplished,” AdvaMed tech and regulatory affairs associate VP said, according to the report.
In July, a new report from the New England Journal of Medicine said that cybersecurity attacks are becoming more common in the healthcare industry and new attacks could manipulate patient and device data in a way that would have immediate, potentially life threatening results.