The Food and Drug Administration and Department of Homeland Security have partnered to resolve cybersecurity issues in medical systems to maintain patient safety.
The FDA said Tuesday its Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the DHS’ Office of Cybersecurity and Communications will coordinate with each other and initiate discussions with medical device manufacturers and researchers about cyber vulnerabilities and threats to health care technologies.
“As innovation in medical devices advances and more devices are connected to hospital networks or to other devices, ensuring that devices are adequately protected against cyber intrusions is paramount to protecting patients,†said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
He added that the partnership will allow the two agencies to support the health care sector in responding to identified system flaws.
The agreement is a continuation to FDA and DHS’ partnership in identifying and resolving vulnerabilities in medical devices.