Malware and medicine: 122 VA devices infected in 14 months

In testimony before a U.S. congressional subcommittee, a spokesman for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs said more than 122 medical devices at VA health facilities were compromised by malware in 14 months.

Roger Baker, VA assistant secretary for information and technology, presented the information during a hearing before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

The VA, which is the U.S. government's largest provider of medical care, has more than 50,000 medical devices connected to networks.

Last year the department began an effort to isolate all medical devices, placing them on virtual local area networks at its Veterans Health Administration facilities. Baker said they expect the work to be complete by the end of this year.

Story here: “VA Security Compromised by Medical Devices“

The pervasiveness and danger of malicious code is truly apparent when you read stories like this of infected medical equipment or entire hospital shutdowns. One would think such a danger would be enough to prompt even the most reluctant government on the planet to take down the ISPs that provide the bullet proof servers and to go after the malicious operators who create the code and distribute it.

Tom Kelchner