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BDO KNOWS LIFE SCIENCES
Framework for Improving Critical
Infrastructure Cybersecurity, which includes
the core principles of “Identify, Protect,
Detect, Respond and Recover.” Such a
program should include:
u Monitoring cybersecurity information
sources for identification and detection of
cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risk;
u
Understanding, assessing and detecting
presence and impact of a vulnerability;
u
Establishing and communicating processes
for vulnerability intake and handling;
u
Clearly defining essential clinical
performance to develop mitigations that
protect, respond and recover from the
cybersecurity risk;
u Adopting a coordinated vulnerability
disclosure policy and practice; and
u
Deploying mitigations that address
cybersecurity risk early and prior
to exploitation.
When evaluating potential cyber risks,
manufacturers should focus on assessing
the risk to the device’s “essential clinical
performance” and consider the following:
1) exploitability of the cybersecurity
The
vulnerability.
2) he severity of the health impact
T
to patients should the vulnerability
be exploited.
In instances where the “essential clinical
performance” of a device could be
compromised, the manufacturer is required
to notify the agency. Reporting requirements
are not enforced if the following
circumstances are met:
1) known serious adverse effects or
No
deaths associated with the vulnerability.
2) he manufacturer sufficiently remediates
T
the issue within 30 days of learning of the
vulnerability.
3) he manufacturer is a participant of
T
an ISAO.
A device with an unacceptable level of risk
to its essential clinical performance may
be considered in violation of the Federal
Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act and subject to
enforcement actions.
BDO INSIGHTS
The FDA refers to medical device
cybersecurity as a “shared responsibility.” We
often talk of “multi-factor authentication”
and “layered defense” as core cybersecurity
strategies, and the same lens should be
applied to the entire healthcare ecosystem.
While manufacturers are ultimately
responsible for identifying and remediating
potential cyber vulnerabilities associated
with their medical devices, hospitals
and healthcare systems must safeguard
their networks from potential breaches
of security via medical devices. Medical
device manufacturers are only the first line
of defense.
The domino effect of a healthcare data
breach sheds light on the importance of
information sharing, a growing area of
focus in cyber strategy and policy. The
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act
(CISA), also part of the omnibus spending
bill, offers prescriptive advice on furthering
collaboration between the government
and private sector, as well as industry
collaboration within the private sector.
While we will likely see an uptick in threat
intelligence sharing across all industries,
concerns about protecting competitive
information and privacy risk have yet to be
addressed.
The level of sharing remains to
be seen, and will dictate the effectiveness of
ISAOs and other information sharing systems
in mitigating cyber risk. Participation in
ISAOs or Information Sharing and Analysis
Centers (ISACs) will likely remain voluntary
in the near-term; however, as exemplified by
the FDA, regulatory entities will increasingly
consider participation when assessing
cyber preparedness.
Healthcare organizations and medical device
manufacturers are well-advised to seek
assistance from consultants and technology
specialists experienced in developing risk
management frameworks and strategies to
navigate complex security and compliance
issues. BDO has deep experience in the
medical device and healthcare industries and
assists companies in conducting security risk
assessments, testing controls, conducting
security monitoring and developing and
executing on incident response plans, in
addition to implementing cybersecurity
risk management programs, strategy
and governance.
BDO TECHNOLOGY & LIFE SCIENCES PRACTICE
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