Is Any Body Safe? Insuring Medical Devices Against Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity is a hot topic in every area of business—including insurance—but medical devices may not immediately come to mind when considering immediate or long-term cyber risks. There have been a number of high-profile lawsuits against hospitals and medical providers involving liability for unintentional access to/disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) from patient files and medical records. Hospitals also have been in the news for security breaches—most will recall that nefarious hackers held hospital hard drives hostage worldwide with the Wannacry and SamSam ransomware attacks over the last two years. But cyber risks from personal medical devices are just figments from television writers’ imaginations, right?