"URGENT/11: FDA Issues Alert for Cyber Vulnerability That Threatens Medical Devices, Networks"
An alert has been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for healthcare organizations, IT professionals, device manufacturers, and patients pertaining to a collection of security vulnerabilities, called URGENT/11, that affect connected medical devices and hospital networks. According to FDA officials, the exploitation of URGENT/11 vulnerabilities could allow attackers to perform malicious activities such as hijacking medical devices remotely, changing device functions, launching denial-of-service attacks, leaking sensitive information, and more. The vulnerabilities affect at least six different operating systems including VxWorks, INTEGRITY, and ZebOS. This article continues to discuss what the abuse of URGENT/11 vulnerabilities can allow attackers to do, which operating systems are affected by the security flaws, and suggestions on how to address these vulnerabilities.