The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center issued an alert Sept. 8 warning about the security risks associated with AI, 5G networks, nanomedicine, smart hospitals and quantum computing.
Five things to know:
- AI systems need access to large amounts of data in order to learn, but there are concerns around patient privacy and the security of that data. The data sent to these systems must be protected at rest and in motion through end-to-end encryption, and robust access controls must be in place. AI systems could potentially allow the re-identification of patients from de-identified data, such as if de-identified data is combined with data from other sources.
- Data transmitted via 5G networks must be properly secured. 5G devices must authenticate before connecting to networks and any data stored on the IoMT devices must be secured with whole disk encryption.
- The alert said there is a concern that nanodevices could be taken out offline due to denial-of-service attacks or could be disrupted by ransomware.
- Healthcare organizations implementing quantum computing will need to review and update cryptographic algorithms that are part of an information infrastructure in order to secure it.
- According to the report, these emerging technologies can greatly benefit the healthcare industry and have the potential to improve patient outcomes and lower costs, but all risks associated with these technologies must be carefully assessed and managed to ensure that vulnerabilities cannot be exploited and patient privacy and safety are not put at risk.