Black Mesa Group
Best-in-class Security for Connected Medical Devices

The healthcare industry is witnessing an influx of highly sophisticated and increasingly connected medical devices. These products promise a feasible way forward for improved treatments, more precise diagnostics, better patient monitoring, automated control, and central reporting and monitoring of data. However, despite investing significantly in novel medical device technology, manufacturers often lack the security expertise and resources to ensure high levels of security. Also, medical devices employ new protocols, platforms, and middleware solutions, which have not been thoroughly vetted for security issues. No wonder, a slew of devices is today compromised by hackers, and sophisticated ransomware attacks on hospitals are making headlines almost every day.

Enter Black Mesa Group.

Founded in 2013, Black Mesa has reinvented security for medical devices cohesively alongside FDA regulators, DoD standards, and device manufacturers. Within a simplified, intuitive platform, the company equips security practitioners with the capability to have full network visibility of medical devices. The company has also partnered with Fukuda Denshi — a global medical device manufacturer—to embed its proprietary MESAx software throughout their device and networks. Fukuda’s developed ConnexusPlatform utilizes Black Mesa’s proactive software and processes to lead the market with their advance interoperability solutions. Notably the SecureCare and SecureConnect Solutions

In an interview with CIO Applications, Justin Ramsaran, VP, Enterprise Solutions with Fukuda Denshi USA, sheds light on Black Mesa’s unique value propositions and Fukuda Denshi’s partnership with Black Mesa.

What are the steps that you follow while engaging with clients?

It all revolves around understanding clients’ security and network landscape and gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the medical devices that they have deployed. Understanding the security posture and maturity of healthcare organization is key in medical device security. This enables us to optimize solutions from a budget standpoint. We believe in looking at the entire hospital infrastructure instead of taking into consideration only the medical devices.

This ensures the holistic security of an entire ecosystem.

Please tell our readers more about the solution that you offer.

Black Mesa was built on the premise of medical IoT or MIoT devices—not as a security solutions provider. But, over the years, the company has become a trusted name for ensuring the end-to-end security of medical devices.

Currently, the medical device security space is evolving rapidly. The FDA has focused on their MDS2 and MDS3 forms to question the filing capability of medical devices when they are brought to the market. Recently, the regulatory authority has added a dedicated cybersecurity section in the MDS2 form. It is intended to be filled out by medical device manufacturers to communicate information about their devices’ security and privacy characteristics to current device owners and potential buyers. They are also planning to revise the MDS3 form as well. These changes have necessitated the medical device manufacturers and hospitals to ensure they secure their entire ecosystem. Our platform uses cutting-edge technologies leveraging AI and ML to help medical device manufacturers deal with sophisticated cyberattacks. Shifting from DevOps to DevSecOps has increased the way software demands in the healthcare industry needs to evolve. Also, it equips them with the auto containment capability to control access to information, files, systems, or networks via access points.

Our robust software module offers in-depth information to make sense of diverse data sets being monitored on a simple to use interface. Once the platform is installed, users can craft customize features. Also, by being a part(nered with) of Black Mesa, businesses are connected with its security of operation center. This allows for the real-time detection of anomalous behavior.

Could you share a client success story with our readers?

Working in liaison (stride) with Fukuda Denshi, Black Mesa has architected for them robust software solutions that play a vital role in securing Fukuda’s advanced software platform. Typically, Fukuda works with smaller-scale hospitals that often lack the right strategies to ensure network security. Black Mesa has enabled this partner to advance its footprint by making the medical devices and hospital infrastructures more secure.

In a nutshell, this dynamic partnership has empowered both parties to grow. On the one hand, Fukuda has been able to build trust among the users of medical devices and ensure the security of devices; on the other hand, Black Mesa has taken a leap forward to fulfill its mission of securing sensitive patient information.

What does the future hold for Black Mesa?

The coming years will witness several expansion of both Fukuda Denshi and Black Mesa. As the Fukuda Denshi’s U.S. division has started to work in liaison with its UK division in, Black Mesa has become an important part of that mission by dynamically growing security infrastructure for Fukuda. Another company that has taken part in this effort is R Group—an organization focused on digital healthcare transformation andbusiness strategies throughout multiple industries. In collaboration with Black Mesa, R Group is adaptively expanding its portfolio into the realm of cybersecurity and helping Black Mesa to improve the efficacy of medical devices.