Hacking Risks Related to Health Data in New Technologies

It is clear that there are regulations that cover cybersecurity of medical devices and other new technology that gathers health data. The problem lies not in the fact that hacking these devices may lead to criminal punishment or liability. The main problem is the fact that the majority of these devices lack rudimental cybersecurity. Reality that there is no known case when someone is harmed due to hacking in such a device is not a reason for not considering this an issue in need of a solution. It is true that ''it is nearly impossible to stop a sophisticated hacker who is determined to gain access'' but the issue is that ''many of the current security practices in place are so sub-standard that even a hacker with relatively low-skill can gain access.’' This issue needs to be solved promptly. It is not acceptable and sufficient to potentially endanger consumers and think that it is enough for regulations to just punish but not to make an obligation to make devices sufficiently cyber-secure. Regulation must enforce mandatory cybersecurity standards and guidelines to force developers to make safe and secure devices because ''security must be a built-in aspect of design for both hardware and software.’ This will lead to a need to harmonise global technology market regulation. Steps that should be taken include 1. Sharing best practices across industry domains; 2. Designing flexible regulations; 3. maintaining and developing digital infrastructure; 4. constantly updating standards and guidelines for developers; 5. raising society's awareness of cybersecurity risks; 6. raising ethical standards in technology developers; 7. Need for transparency, the user needs to be to clearly informed about risks and informed of breaches.
These issues should be addressed as fast as it is possible, especially because ''research firm Forrester has predicted that in the near future we will see ransomware for a medical device or wearable.’' This is not the only future concern. Technologies are rapidly developing and their usage and application are spreading fast. Nanotechnologies like ''implantables, embeddables’' will become reality probably faster than it is expected and involve even higher cybersecurity risks. …