Blue Technologies Blog

The last few years have been a powerful warning to medical labs and health care providers when it comes to cybersecurity. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned device manufacturers and healthcare providers about a group of security flaws, called Urgent/11, that could control medical devices and change their function, cause a leak of information, or prevent function altogether. In 2020, a new threat, the Ripple20 malware, was discovered. Ripple20 can infect any number of connected devices, creating vulnerabilities that could compromise health and safety.

Hackers are getting more sophisticated, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has given them the space they need to launch new and more impactful attacks. Recently, it was reported that last year broke the record for the number of sophisticated cyber assaults called zero-day attacks — and that number is climbing. Now, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) along with the National Security Agency (NSA) have warned businesses to expect an increase in cybercrime stemming from Russian hacking groups exploiting wartime disruption to perpetrate increased malicious activity. 

The transformation of manual processes to digital has been growing in the healthcare industry for years, and dentistry is no different. Digitizing not only workflows, but also the patient experience helps dental practices to become more competitive and more productive while offering a higher level of patient care to clients. From scheduling and billing to radiography and digital dentistry, dental offices are shifting their priorities from a manual world to one filled with leading-edge technology tools.