Zingbox, the provider of healthcare Internet of Things (IoT) analytics platforms, announced that University of Iowa Health Care has deployed Zingbox’s IoT Guardian to protect and monitor their network of connected medical devices.

The operational availability of University of Iowa Health Care’s more than 45,000 connected medical devices is a top priority for its security team. The team needed a solution that would allow them to identify all devices without relying on highly manual inventory processes; assess network-wide risk in real time to comply with federal regulations, and optimize the operation and maintenance of thousands of connected medical devices.

Zingbox demonstrated the value of IoT Guardian during the proof-of-concept and subsequent deployment. Zingbox IoT Guardian uncovered unauthorized communications from medical devices with the same vector used to perpetrate WannaCry and NotPetya attacks, enabling University of Iowa Health to notify the device manufacturer to correct the vulnerability.

In addition to securing the health system against threats and cyberattacks, IoT Guardian also helped optimize biomedical operations. Engineers can quickly see whether a device is being used disproportionately compared with other devices and whether usage can be rotated to increase the life of all devices. And when devices get recalled, engineers can use IoT Guardian to quickly locate and replace them throughout the entire health system.

With IoT Guardian, University of Iowa Health Care now has:

• A real-time inventory of all devices running on the network at any given time, as well as details about each device’s status, behavior and classification

• Real-time, holistic assessment of network risk, with alerts and guidance for threat response

• Visibility into potential bioengineering operational efficiencies and cost savings

“From a security perspective, we always want to know what’s out there,” said University of Iowa Health Care’s Chief Information Security Officer Shari Lewison. “Zingbox helps us understand the security of everything in our environment. There’s very low management required on our side because the information is intuitively presented, and there’s no training necessary.”

“By providing a holistic, proactive and real-time solution, Zingbox helps University of Iowa Health Care to protect and optimize devices across its entire community,” said Xu Zou, CEO and co-founder of Zingbox. “Security and an operational foundation powered by artificial intelligence are critical as healthcare providers aim to ensure patient safety and quality of care delivery.”

For more information on how University of Iowa Health Care is protecting their medical devices with Zingbox, visit: www.zingbox.com/resources/univ-iowa/