Medical Device Vulnerability Scoring and Remediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare delivery organizations face challenges in managing cyber-related vulnerabilities in medical devices due to lack of timely evaluation of patches by OEMs, unclear accountability, and absence of structured systems for vulnerability management, leading to increased risk and exposure of patient safety and operational disruptions.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented process for remediating cyber-related operability issues in special purpose electronic devices, including creating device profiles, generating verification and validation test plans, evaluating vulnerabilities using dynamic models, and prioritizing actions for mitigation, while also calculating security vulnerability scores and initiating remediation workflows to patch high-priority devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a structured vulnerability management system is implemented, then device security and patient safety are improved, but system complexity and implementation overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vulnerability management system is segmented into distinct functional modules including device discovery, vulnerability assessment, risk scoring, patch management, and reporting components. Each module handles specific tasks independently, making the overall system more manageable and maintainable while providing comprehensive security coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components such as vulnerability management servers that act as mediators between medical devices, network infrastructure, and security teams. These intermediaries simplify complex interactions by providing standardized interfaces and automated coordination, reducing implementation overhead
2Productivity
If comprehensive vulnerability assessment and prioritization processes are implemented, then remediation effectiveness is improved, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary vulnerability assessments and risk scoring continuously in the background, maintaining up-to-date security postures of all devices before actual remediation actions are needed. This preliminary characterization enables rapid response when vulnerabilities are detected without requiring time-consuming evaluations at remediation time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic risk scoring that adjusts priority parameters based on changing conditions such as device criticality, vulnerability severity, exploit availability, and remediation difficulty. This parameter-based prioritization enables the system to focus resources on high-risk items while automatically adjusting assessment depth based on risk level
3Productivity
If device-level prioritization based on dynamic vulnerability models is implemented, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vulnerability assessment system applies different levels of analysis depth and computational resources to different devices based on their local characteristics such as device type, network position, and operational criticality. High-criticality devices receive more thorough assessment while lower-risk devices use streamlined evaluation, optimizing computational resource allocation
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented process of remediating device security vulnerabilities is carried out by determining identifications of electronic devices associated with an entity and calculating, for each device, a security cyber-vulnerability score. For instance, the cyber-vulnerability score is calculated by generating a device cyber-vulnerability score based upon known threats and vulnerabilities, generating a device level cyber-vulnerability score by augmenting the generated device cyber-vulnerability score based upon at least one device level parameter, generating an environmental cyber-vulnerability score, and computing an overall cyber-vulnerability score based upon the device level cyber-vulnerability score and the environmental cyber-vulnerability score. The computer-implemented process also comprises prioritizing the electronic devices based upon the computed overall cyber-vulnerability score, identifying whether a patch is available for at least one electronic device, and initiating a remediation/mitigation workflow to patch at least one electronic device.