The cyber attack on Britain’s healthcare services network was almost like an Alfred Hitchcock movie where the opening scene establishes the tone for the rest of the film. As researchers warn against malware ‘Judy’ that targets your smartphone, it becomes the third major global cyber attack this month after ‘Ransomware’ that breached international systems, and ‘WannaCry’.
Foreign media reported how Ransomware caused operations to be cancelled at hospitals, ambulances to be diverted and medical records to be held at ransom. And while this threat was tackled, the incident gives us a peep into the dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the net and its potential to cause life-threatening damage. Earlier this year, the United States Food and Drug Administration had warned of this sort of attack being unleashed through medical devices. A medical device is as vulnerable to security breaches as any other, it cautioned. The vulnerability increases as medical devices are increasingly connected to the internet, hospital networks, and to other medical devices, the US regulator had said. Think of a situation where your blood sugar readings are linked directly to your doctor or the medical records are all uploaded on to the internet. And, what if the readings are altered? The ramifications this can have on automated medication, interpretation of medical readings, etc, can be life-threatening.
This is something Indian policymakers need to be extremely alert to. The mood at present is to be gung-ho about Digital India and label even the most genuine cautionary note as a Luddite’s rant. But there is no getting away from the fact that there are trouble-makers on the dark net who can pull the plug on systems for reasons ranging from ideology to terrorism to sheer mischief. Financial institutions worry that the biggest threat of financial crime comes from the cyberworld —a clear red warning signal here for healthcare, as an attack on medical devices and data will put lives at risk.
Deputy Editor