Kotz Articulates the Security Challenges of Health and Wellness

Professor Kotz, at the request of the Center for the Clinical Trials Network, presented a webinar on the 26th of January 2016. His presentation was an overview of the THaW research agenda as it relates to the security challenges faced by health care professionals.

Here is a brief synopsis of Professor Kotz’s presentation:

The Mobile medical applications offer tremendous opportunities to improve quality and access to care, reduce cost, and improve individual wellness and public health. These new technologies, whether in the form of software for smartphones as specialized devices to be worn, carried, or applied as needed, may also pose risks if they are not designed or configured with security and privacy in mind. For example, a patient’s insulin pump may accept dosage instructions from unauthorized smartphones running a spoofed application; another patient’s fertility-tracking app may be probing the Bluetooth network for its associated device, exposing her use of this app to nearby strangers. In this webinar, Dr. David Kotz presents an overview of the security and privacy challenges posed by mobile medical applications, including important open issues that require further research.

To view the entire presentation click here.

THaW webinar – September 8 at NSF

Security and Privacy: Mobile Medical Applications
David Kotz, PhD – Dartmouth College

September 8, 2015      12pm-1pm ET

NSF CISE: Smart and Connected Health Presentation and Webcast
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA, Room 110

Mobile medical applications offer tremendous opportunities to improve quality and access to care, reduce cost, and improve individual wellness and public health. These new technologies, whether in the form of software for smartphones as specialized devices to be worn, carried, or applied as needed, may also pose risks if they are not designed or configured with security and privacy in mind. For example, a patient’s insulin pump may accept dosage instructions from unauthorized smartphones running a spoofed application; another patient’s fertility-tracking app may be probing the Bluetooth network for its associated device, exposing her use of this app to nearby strangers. In this webinar, Dr. David Kotz presents an overview of the security and privacy challenges posed by mobile medical applications, including important open issues that require further research.

 Webcast Access:  https://nsf.webex.com/nsf/onstage/g.php?d=744297685&t=a

Will Health Tech Ever Be Hack Proof?

Professor Kevin Fu participated recently on a panel entitled, “Will Health Tech Ever Be Hack Proof?” at the New America symposium on Our Data, Our Health: The Future of Mobile Health Technology (26 March 2015). Joining Kevin to explore the personal, economic and regulatory implications of securing health related technology were Lucia Savage, Chief Privacy Officer, National Coordinator for Health IT, Alvaro Bedoya, Executive Director, Center on Privacy and Technology, Georgetown, and the panel’s moderator was Peter Singer, Strategist and Senior Fellow, New America. The video of this panel discussion can be found here.

A summary of the panel discussion described above can be found in this issue of CIO. [CIO]

THaW goes to India

image of historic vidhana-soudha building in BangaloreTHaW PI David Kotz presented a keynote talk at the Workshop on Networked Healthcare Technologies (NetHealth) today in Bangalore, India. This talk provided an overview of the economic and technical trends leading to the THaW project, a summary of a few THaW projects underway, and a research agenda for security and privacy in healthcare IT. The talk was well received and was a wonderful opportunity for interchange of ideas in both the US and India contexts.