The Power of Synergy: UEM in Medical Device Risk

According to IBM Security’s “Threat Intelligence Index” research, healthcare was one of the top 10 most-attacked industries in 2023. The “Cost of a Data Breach 2023” analysis found that healthcare data breach expenses had risen 53.3% from 2020. Even though it follows many regulations, the healthcare business recorded the most expensive data breaches on average USD 10.93 million for the 13th year in a row. 58% of events were in Europe, 42% in North America.

UEM and medical device risk management work together to build a strong cybersecurity posture that facilitates device management and protects the safety and reliability of doctors’ and nurses’ medical devices. UEM manages and secures endpoints, including healthcare ecosystem mobile devices. Medical or custom gadgets can be endpoints.

Modern UEM vendors create usable solutions to manage device deployment, security, performance, and product and application lifecycles on one platform. UEM systems with risk assessment capabilities, such as AI-powered risk analysis and rapid risk evaluation, can meet industry regulations and mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities in real time.

UEM offers healthcare companies the following benefits:

• Visibility: UEM gives healthcare providers real-time visibility into connected medical devices’ status, performance, and security. This controls risk and reduces data leaks and cyberattacks.
• Smooth deployment: UEM solutions allow healthcare providers to configure tablets used by doctors and nurses in bulk or individually according to security requirements. A frictionless relationship with end users is a primary goal, thus user needs are considered by default.
• Security Management: UEM offers enhanced security policies like encrypted containers, single sign-on, identity management, wipe/remote wipe, and more. Security may involve risk management policies based on industry best practices and regulatory requirements to protect patient and healthcare provider data.

Medical Device Risk Management prioritizes patient safety with rigorous methodology and risk control.

1. Patient Safety: Mobile medical equipment must be safe and reliable. Risk management helps identify threat sources and mitigate patient hazards.

2. Data Security: Today’s networked medical equipment make data security crucial. Medical Device Risk Management techniques include cybersecurity measures to protect patient data and avoid data leaks and loss.

3. Compliance with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation: Medical device producers must follow tight regulations like healthcare organizations. Compliance requires proper risk evaluation, processes, techniques, policies, and activities.

4. Life cycle Management: Risk management includes medical device procurement, deployment, and maintenance. This fits with UEM’s fundamental device and app life cycle management features.

UEM and medical device risk management align. UEM helps establish robust risk management approaches and processes in the healthcare cybersecurity strategy:

1. Insight and Monitoring: UEM systems provide real-time insight into medical devices like nurses’ and physicians’ tablets, automatically discovering and mitigating security vulnerabilities and cyberattacks.

2. Policy Enforcement: UEM lets healthcare providers implement security policies and configurations across all connected devices with automated risk evaluations. These fit within the company’s risk management policies. Industry regulations like HIPAA are considered in some UEM solutions’ security policies.

3. Quick Response: In the case of a security breach, device malfunction, or loss or theft, UEM allows real-time solutions like isolating impacted devices or deploying remote updates and patches. According to cybersecurity experts, cyber threats and attacks are highly likely and there is no acceptable amount of vulnerability. UEM reduces cyber threat business risk through risk-based, automated solutions.

4. Data Protection: UEM encrypts sensitive data to comply with data privacy laws. To assist healthcare IT teams work efficiently, modern UEM technology suppliers cover US and European data privacy laws. Built-in identity and access management (IAM) features and integration with IAM technologies are essential for controlling user access to information.

5. Risk Analysis: Medical risk management frameworks specify risk analysis methods. UEM providers have built-in analytics, some powered by AI, that automatically analyze user risk for specific occurrences in real time. These cybersecurity risk analysis tools also specify the steps IT teams must take to control risk in accordance with enterprise risk management standards and streamline decision-making. This includes stakeholders’ SMS phishing responses, uninstalled fixes, and outdated operating systems. Cybersecurity has long believed that no risk should be ignored, thus teams that build controls and create risk management processes should include medical device and app security.

In conclusion, the variety of medical devices in healthcare, such as mobile devices for nurses and doctors, and rising cyberthreats require UEM technologies and Medical Device Risk Management to be part of any healthcare company’s risk management process. Ensures patient data safety, safeguards sensitive healthcare data, mitigates business risks, and promotes stakeholder satisfaction. Cybersecurity risk assessments can estimate the likelihood of phishing, ransomware, backdoor attacks, and web shells and should be part of a full risk management strategy. Some UEM suppliers offer AI-powered risk analysis as part of cybersecurity evaluations, which might be crucial for healthcare control design teams. The ultimate goal is to provide holistic, high-quality care in a more linked healthcare ecosystem.

Security IBM MaaS360 is a modern, powerful unified endpoint management technology that helps healthcare organizations comply with HIPAA/HITECH, protect data, minimize IT effort, and lower mobile device management costs. The AI-powered MaaS360 engine automatically evaluates user risk so IT teams can proactively mitigate vulnerabilities and cyber dangers.

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