IoT devices in the health care industry are prone to cyber-attack

With the Internet of Things devices, remote monitoring in the healthcare industry saw new horizons. The IoT has proved its potential of keeping the patients well protected and healthy. At the same time, it also empowers the physicians and helps them to deliver top-notch care to the patients.

In the medical industry, patient engagement plays a crucial role, and the implementation of the Internet of Things has made patient engagement better. The patients have satisfactory interactions with the doctors, and this was possible due to the ease of IoT. The patients' remote monitoring aids in reducing the hospital stay and it also prevent readmissions. Another significant impact that IoT has made in healthcare impact is to reduce healthcare costs significantly.

These instances are solid examples which state that the Internet of Things transforms the healthcare industry. Besides IoT, the health industry is also widely relying on Machine Learning capability and Artificial Intelligence for improving both the access as well as the outcomes. And the adaptation of these technologies benefit the patients of the rural areas. The transparency nature of IoT has also made the technology a popular target among cybercriminals around the world.

When IoT came into existence, there was a sheer lack of security awareness among the consumers & manufacturers, and this resulted in the hacking of several IoT devices via Mirai botnet in the year 2016. Back in the year 2015, over 77 per cent of the complete healthcare industry faced significant malware attacks. WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 300,000 devices around 150,000 countries.

It isn't compulsory for the manufacturers of the medical devices for including cybersecurity capabilities. IoT is being used rapidly in many industries including healthcare. Hence the manufacturers need to curate the devices with necessary security solutions. Nobody knows when the next wave of botnet attack will happen, only preparations will protect the devices.

**This post was published on https://www.analyticsinsight.net