Cyber Security Issues by Robotics Technology in Healthcare

Medical robotics had slowly grows over the years with the advancement of technology. In the year 2020, Covid-19 pandemic had opened our eyes and mind to the importance of medical robotics. Many hospitals had started to adopt more robots in order to reduce the risk of the spreading of Covid-19 in the healthcare environment. The adoption of robots in healthcare is proven as the best solution to fight the pandemic as well as the way to overcome humans limitation while performing medical practices. However, the integration of robots in healthcare also means invitation to many challenges into the medical field. This post highlights the cyber security issues by robotics technology in healthcare.

Robotics technology in healthcare

In the beginning of the adoption of robots in healthcare, they are mainly used to assist doctors, nurses and surgeon tasks. Nowadays, with development of technology such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning and big data, their roles in the medical practices had become more crucial. As a results, robots in healthcare are now able to perform heavy computational tasks like speech, navigation and object recognition on the cloud as their functions involve more interconnection between system and devices.

Cyber security issues by robotics technology in healthcare

Cyber attacks are any malicious acts by cybercriminals that aim to control computing infrastructure, computer networks, interrupting data integrity or stealing personal data or information. Interconnection between system and devices as well as integration of robots in healthcare with cloud computing environment increase the risk of cyber attacks.

In healthcare, the impact of cyber breaches is the same as the impact of cyber attacks on industry which includes financial loss, injuries or death. For example, a service robot usually involves with children, elder people and person with disabilities. If the controls of the robot are breaches, it may become harmful to the people they serve. Similarly, a breach to a surgical robot during a surgery might interrupt the process and lead to loss of life. Additionally, a caretaker robot is usually equipped with surveillance camera as well as the ability to obtain data regarding the location and condition of the people assigned to them. Without cyber security, these data will be easily stolen and exploited for various cyber crimes such as identity fraud and ransomware.

In summary, cyber security issues by robotics technology in healthcare will always arise as the need to utilise robots associated with cloud computing and big data increases. Thus, every organisation in the medical sectors should understand the importance of cyber security in order to leverage the adoption of robots in healthcare.

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