Thales and Device Authority launch solution to secure the connected health industry

A new solution has been developed to give healthcare professionals access to secure, authenticated IoT devices.

The KeyScaler Platform has been developed by critical information systems provider Thales and identity and access management (IAM) specialist, Device Authority. The platform provides high-assurance device authentication at IoT scale and managed end-to-end encryption to authentically secure connected devices for use in healthcare. The platform works by authenticating any new device hardware and establishing a strong root of trust and identity throughout a network.

The solution strengthens security between connected devices by issuing a security token that a device can use to validate itself to other IoT platforms.More so, the KeyScaler platform delivers automation for critical credential management processes, in addition to tokenised access control and policy-based encryption for data, in transit and at rest.

Within healthcare, the connected health market is forecasted to reach $612 billion by 2024. IoT devices are beginning to transform how healthcare is delivered, through lifestyle management via mobile apps and medical device integration.

The connectivity of these devices means that the healthcare industry is now regularly targeted by cybercriminals, with 70% of healthcare organisations reporting having experienced a data breach according to the 2018 Thales Data Threat Report.

Darron Antill, chief executive officer of Device Authority, added: “IoT is transforming the healthcare industry and the way healthcare is provided. When you look at medical devices it’s imperative that the right data files from the right consultant go to the right device to instruct it to perform the right procedure, or administer the precise amount of medication, for the correct patient – and there must be no question at any point over the integrity of the data or the medical device. This solution will bring a new level of assurance to both healthcare professionals and patients that the technology being implemented is secured and all data transferred is safe from compromise.”

Cindy Provin, chief executive officer of Thales eSecurity, says: “Every day we are seeing how technology in healthcare is helping improve the care that patients receive. However, we have also seen that the healthcare industry is regularly under threat from cybercriminals. Our partnership with Device Authority enables us to solve the device authentication, integrity and data privacy challenges that are impeding IoT deployments, by creating a hardened system for issuing and managing device credentials and keys that are essential to creating a root of trust and enhancing patient safety for customer IoT projects.”