While the growing popularity of wearable devices in health care has opened the door to new advances in medical detection, prevention, and treatment, it has also paved the way for growing security challenges for the medical sector. These devices record and store a significant amount of personally identifiable user data. Cybercriminals can take advantage of this to retrieve private data from your connected devices.
A recent study published in the Health Information Management Journal shows that most users are unaware of the security risks associated with wearable devices. In this article, we will identify cybersecurity challenges experienced by the health-care industry due to IoT and wearable devices. You’ll also learn how health-care organizations counter data collection and user privacy concerns through advanced cybersecurity methods. Finally, we’ll also explain the struggle of balancing data collection and analysis for diagnostics and treatment while meeting patient confidentiality and legal compliance requirements.
What makes wearable devices in health care risky?
A Journal of Healthcare Engineering article titled “Research on Data Security and Privacy Protection of Wearable Equipment in Healthcare” defines these devices as “important network nodes for health interconnection.” Your Apple Watches and Fitbit bands track real-time data related to your body temperature, mood, sleeping pattern, and physical behavior.
Wearable devices collect these details continuously and upload them to a connected cloud. Unprotected data transfer makes these devices “vulnerable to attacks and data leakage.” It’s a weak point that savvy cybercriminals can attack quickly, as smartwatches and biosensors do not have password protection, biometric data security, or encryption to safeguard medical data. Experienced hackers can use point-to-point networking, unsecure Wi-Fi connectivity, and other access points for infiltration.
In addition, defective technology, broken data links, and a lack of encrypted passwords make these devices vulnerable to threats. (Jiang and Shi, 2021)
The frequency of wearable usage and the amount of information that users feed into them make them more vulnerable to these threats.
So what happens in the aftermath of a security breach?
There’s a chance that con artists might use the user’s medical information to secure medical prescriptions and resell/use them. Additionally, data breaches can create discrepancies in inpatient treatment. That’s because the primary health-care provider receives incomplete information. Alternatively, scammers can use the available information to retrieve your account details, address, and other valuable data.
Moreover, cybercriminals can transfer malware and viruses into your central database and target the health-care system.
Lastly, health-care institutions and wearable manufacturers are held accountable for failing to adhere to user privacy laws and regulatory systems. Consequently, this can harm the companies associated with manufacturing, distributing, or selling wearable equipment. Due to this, manufacturers can experience costly legal actions if the wearer reports the misuse of the information in the IoT age of health.
Closing in on the cybersecurity gaps with a balancing act
Introducing wearable devices in health-care plans can be a dilemma for many specialists. On the one hand, medical facilities want to optimize data collection through intelligent technology and intelligent apps. Health-care practitioners can use the acquired information for initial diagnosis, monthly health status, and treatment.
Yet health-care management teams need to ensure that user privacy policies and legal compliance are not affected by the medical data exchange.
Many health-care service providers strive to minimize these security risks by using wearable equipment for daily fitness tracking or routine diagnosis. One of their plans includes developing a sustainable, low-risk data storage cloud system that requires two-factor authentication. Users need to complete the appropriate steps to access the cloud database and other data storage space.
Additionally, you can integrate blockchain-dependent security devices to maximize data integration and security channels. IBM describes this technique as a “comprehensive risk management” solution that relies on a robust, anti-hacking cybersecurity framework. These digital solutions promote trust in data transfers and transactions to put users at ease. Health-care industries collaborate with IoT specialists for cryptography, decentralization, and consensus in most cases.
These extra steps can help users of wearable devices in health care deter prying eyes from their personally identifiable content.
Conclusion
Without a robust cybersecurity system, your wearable equipment and cloud storage setup can be vulnerable to attacks. It can cause the device to glitch due to a virus attack. Thus, security and user privacy for wearable devices in health care shouldn’t be labeled as an option. Instead, health-care industries need to make it a compulsory part of the development plan. It’s an unofficial right for users of wearable equipment to receive complete protection from unsafe networks and potential data loss.
Security integrations for health-care facilities that include wearable devices as part of the treatment plan should be common practice. Standard choices for user safety include protected passwords, two-way authentication systems, blockchain systems, and encrypted channels to mitigate potential risks.
These preventive measures enable health-care facilities to collect relevant data without breaching patient confidentiality. In this way, specialists can maintain medical records and continue tracking the progress of individual patients without experiencing cybersecurity threats.
