UL Aims to Help VA, DARPA Secure Internet of Things, Medical Devices

Illinois-based consulting and safety certification firm UL collaborates with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in efforts to advance cybersecurity into internet-connected devices and medical devices that agencies procure, HealthcareInfoSecurity reported Tuesday.

Anura Fernando, principal engineer for medical systems interoperability and security at UL, said the company has teamed up with VA on research and development efforts in an effort to facilitate information sharing and increase cybersecurity awareness across the health care sector.

The partnership also seeks to “find better ways to standardize procurement of new medical devices in the VA [healthcare facilities], and to make innovative technology more readily available to the veterans … through that procurement process,” Fernando told HealthInfoSec in an interview.

Ken Modeste, a UL principal technical adviser and global principal engineer, said in a joint interview the consulting firm works with DARPA to conduct tests in order to identify cyber challenges and risks associated with industrial internet of things devices.

“Ultimately, the objective is to collaborate with DARPA so that we can eventually produce standard specifications for what you need to do for IoT gateways … from a cybersecurity perspective,” Modeste added.