Project Scope

Objective

Similar to the Institute for healthcare improvement, our systems project will focus on at
least one of the three critical objectives that can potentially lead better models for
providing better healthcare. The following critical objectives are:

● Improve the health of the defined population
● Enhance patient care experience (including quality access and reliability)
● Reduce or at least control the per capita cost of care

Our project would like to focus on improving the health of a defined population by investigating medical device hacking and its various effects on the population. Based on our findings in the previous section,  we would like to learn about the following regarding medical device hacking:

● Positive and negative implications for medical device hacking
● How vulnerable are medical devices really?
● How vulnerable are hospitals are to a malware attack?

From this project, we would like to learn the answers to our questions as well as gain an
understanding of the size of the medical device hacking space.


Research Method

We will begin our research with news articles to provide an idea of various cases of
medical device hacking. From there we would like to identify how often these breaches
occur by utilizing a data source provided either by Dr. Weisband or other external source.
After exploring the frequency of medical device hacks, we would like to explore how
often breaches like such happen in hospitals.


Expected Conclusion


Our early research, specifically the article about the Mayo clinic hiring the hackers, is extremely relevant to what we expect to find, although we do not think other companies may take the same proactive approach that Mayo did to correct their problems. 

The likely final solution will have to end up being some sort of government regulation to ensure that all future medical devices are equipped with the proper security so the users will not be harmed by hackers or other invasive systems.

Insulin Pump Vulnerable to Hacking, Johnson & Johnson Warns

This article details that healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson has learned of a cybersecurity bug in one of its insulin pumps. The Animas OneTouch Ping pump can be exploited to overdose diabetic patients with insulin. The device is sold with a wireless remote control that patients can use to order the pump to dose insulin. 

Johnson & Johnson has stated that the hacking risk is low, and the hacker would have to be less than 25 feet away from the device in order to control the device. Despite this, the Company issued several preventative measures for its patients to use. In addition, J&J has stated that newer pumps are equipped with more security. 

It’s Way Too Easy to

Hack the Hospital

Firewalls and medical devices are extremely vulnerable, and everyone’s pointing fingers

 This article focuses on Billy Rios, a “white hat” hacker who was contracted on an assignment for The Mayo Clinic. As a “white hat” hacker, Rios’s job is to hack computers and systems to identify vulnerabilities. When Billy Rios arrived, he was surprised to see a room full of other hackers. The Mayo Clinic had assembled a star team to take down the hospital's devices and systems. Like computers and printers, medical devices such as MRIs, and ultrasound equipment are connected to a network, leaving it vulnerable to hacks. 

Rios and the team of hackers found that they were able to hack into Mayo Clinic’s devices rather easily. Rios stated that “Every day, it was like every device on the menu got crushed.” As a result, the Mayo Clinic restructured their security requirements for its medical device suppliers. The hospital required that each device be tested to meet a set of standards before purchasing contracts were signed. 

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