Windows Devices in Hospitals Vulnerable to Potential Exploits

Windows Devices in Hospitals Vulnerable to Potential Exploits According to recent reports, hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities present in health devices, and it can prove dangerous to the health of the patients at the hospital. But, the problem could be avoided by following some simple steps. The health devices have a more likable chance to the Bluekeep exploit than any other devices connected in the hospitals. Health devices can be exploited up to 2 times, using the Bluekeep exploit. This puts both the patients and the hospital staff in danger as witnessing the current scenario, the health sector has recently been one of the primary targets of the hackers.

Therefore, the issue of cybersecurity among the health sector is one of the main concerns of the digital age. Bluekeep was first discovered in 2019, and it is a vulnerability in Microsoft RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). The vulnerability affects Windows7, Windows8, Windows Server2008, and Windows Server2008 R2. When the news of Bluekeep vulnerability surfaced, Microsoft immediately released a security patch to resolve the issue. Various intelligence agencies, including the US NSA (National Security Advisory) and Britain’s NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre), immediately informed Microsoft to fix all the security patches related to the vulnerability.

The matter of concern was that Bluekeep could be used as malware to do the same damage that EternalBlue had caused, the exploit that triggered Wannacry. In this incident, various high profile organizations were taken the victim, but the greatest attack happened on the National Health Service of UK, in which the entire networks of the hospitals were shut down. But despite various warnings, health devices that run on Windows are still vulnerable to a potential Bluekeep exploit.

According to researchers at CyberMDX, a healthcare cybersecurity company, a newly made report’s data suggests that more than 20% of healthcare devices (that run on Windows) in hospitals are vulnerable to the blue keep exploit, as they have still not configured to the latest security patches. The healthcare devices include x-ray machines, anesthesia machines, ultrasound devices, and radiology equipment. If these devices are not fixed to the latest security patch, chances are that hackers could exploit them using the blue keep vulnerability. This can risk the lives of the patients and the healthcare staff.