Kaspersky researchers have uncovered 33 critical flaws in MMQT, a prominent protocol used by medical devices.
The MMQT Protocol is used for remote patent monitoring including the continuous recording of heart activity and other health data. They also discovered vulnerabilities in the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wearable platform, which is used in many wearable health trackers.
When researchers identified the flaw in the MMQT protocol, they found that the flaw lies in its authentication, which they say is “completely optional and rarely includes encryption.”
This makes the protocol very vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. In addition, medical data, personal information and a person’s whereabouts are at risk of theft.
To ensure the security of patient data, Kaspersky has identified several steps healthcare providers must follow.
This includes checking the security of the application or device proposed by the hospital and minimizing the data transmitted by telehealth apps.
Healthcare providers are also advised to change passwords from standard passwords and use encryption if the device provides it.
For more information, read the original story in TechRepublic.