Computer Virus Conflicker Infects Medical Devices in U.S., Britain, India

More than 300 medical devices from a single manufacturer found at hospitals and other medical facilities in the United States, Britain and India have been infected with a computer worm, putting patients at risk, according to Rodney Joffe, senior vice president and senior technologist at telecom clearinghouse NeuStar Inc.

“These devices are used in large hospitals and allow doctors to view and manipulate high-intensity scans (MRI, CT Scans etc.) and are often found in or near ICU facilities connected to local area networks that include other critical medical devices,” Joffe said in testimony before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce on Friday.

Rules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are preventing medical device companies from carrying out repairs. Regulations mandate that hospitals have to wait 90 days before the systems could be wiped clean to remove the infections.

Joffe, in a phone interview with Medical Product Outsourcing, would not name the medical device manufacturer or the names of specific hospitals where the infected devices are located.

Go to http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&tID=5&src=atom&atom=todays_events.xml&products_id=285640-1 to view streaming video of Joffe’s complete testimony.