Medical Device Cyber Security: The First 164 Years

March 19, 2014 (at 2:30 p.m.) in Defense & Management

Today, it would be difficult to find medical device technology that does not critically depend on computer software. Network connectivity and wireless communication has transformed the delivery of patient care. The technology often enables patients to lead more normal and healthy lives. However, medical devices that rely on software (e.g., drug infusion pumps, linear accelerators, pacemakers) also inherit the pesky cybersecurity risks endemic to computing. What’s special about medical devices and cybersecurity? What’s hype and what’s real? What can history teach us? How are international standards bodies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration draft guidance on cybersecurity affecting the global manufacture of medical devices? This talk will provide a glimpse into the risks, benefits, and regulatory issues for medical device cybersecurity and innovation of trustworthy medical device software.

Kevin Fu

Dr. Kevin Fu is credited for establishing the field of medical device security. Kevin is Chief Scientist of Virta Labs, Inc. and Associate Professor in EECS at the University of Michigan where he directs the Archimedes Center for Medical Device Security and the Security and Privacy Research Group (SPQR) at secure-medicine.org.

Kevin has briefed White House staff on methods to improve medical device security. He was named MIT Technology Review TR35 Innovator of the Year. Kevin served as program chair of USENIX Security, a member of the NIST Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, and co-chair of the AAMI Working Group on Medical Device Security. He served as a visiting scientist at the Food & Drug Administration, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School, Microsoft Research, and MIT CSAIL. Kevin received his B.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. from MIT. He earned a certificate of artisanal bread making from the French Culinary Institute. Follow Kevin @DrKevinFu.