VA signs R&D agreement for medical device cybersecurity

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Program for medical device cybersecurity standards and certification approaches with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a scientific safety organization. The pair will work to improve standards and practices for network connectable medical devices, medical device data systems and related health IT. "Working together with the VA, we will contribute to industry-wide situational awareness of both medical device vulnerabilities and threats," said Anura Fernando, UL Principal Engineer for Medical Software & Systems Interoperability, in a statement. "We believe that this project will positively impact the direction that manufacturers take in improving the overall security posture of medical cyber assets." More