“For decades, there’s been an unofficial truce between cybersecurity researchers and companies: When good guy hackers find a problem, they give companies a chance to fix it before going public.

But a cybersecurity firm called MedSec just upended that truce.”

(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/09/01/a-new-hacker-money-making-strategy-betting-against-insecure-companies-on-wall-street/)

“While medical device manufacturers must improve the security of their products, claiming the sky is falling is counterproductive.” – ThaW researcher, Kevin Fu

(http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/news/stories/2016/august/holes-found-in-report)

MedSec, a medical security firm, has formed an unusual partnership with investment firm Muddy Waters to generate revenue based on MedSec infosec research. When MedSec recently found alleged faults in St. Jude’s implantable heart equipment, it alerted Muddy Waters rather than St. Jude’s as tradition normally dictates. Muddy Waters promptly issued a research report highlighting the alleged faults and shorted St. Jude’s stock, giving MedSec a portion of the proceeds from the short sale.

However, ThaW researcher, Kevin Fu, and University of Michigan colleagues attempted to replicate the MedSec research and determined that MedSec’s findings were “inconclusive”. For more information on the Michigan investigtion see –

(http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/news/stories/2016/august/holes-found-in-report)

This saga is far from complete, as Fu’s team continues to look into the MedSec findings.

For more information:

http://engin.umich.edu/college/about/news/stories/2016/august/holes-found-in-report

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/09/01/a-new-hacker-money-making-strategy-betting-against-insecure-companies-on-wall-street/

http://www.startribune.com/so-far-st-jude-medical-weathering-cybersecurity-scrutiny/392212661/