
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56814-56816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22515]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2014-N-1286]


Collaborative Approaches for Medical Device and Healthcare 
Cybersecurity; Public Workshop; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the following 
public workshop entitled ``Collaborative Approaches for Medical Device 
and Healthcare Cybersecurity''. FDA, in collaboration with other 
stakeholders within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 
and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeks broad input from 
the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector on medical device and 
healthcare cybersecurity. The vision for this public workshop is to 
catalyze collaboration among all HPH stakeholders. Participants will 
identify barriers to promoting cooperation; discuss innovative 
strategies to address challenges that may jeopardize critical 
infrastructure; and enable proactive development of analytical tools, 
processes, and best practices by the stakeholder community in order to 
strengthen medical device cybersecurity.
    Dates and Times: The public workshop will be held on October 21 and 
22, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Location: The public workshop will be held at the National 
Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center Auditorium, 2451 
Crystal Dr., suite 200, Arlington, VA 22202. Entrance for the public 
workshop participants is through the main doors which face Crystal 
Drive. Upon arrival at the facility, participants should visit the 
registration table to check in. For parking, participants may choose 
from a number of pay garages, including one directly beneath the 
facility.
    Contact Person: Suzanne Schwartz, Center for Devices and 
Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 
Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 5418, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-6937, FAX: 
301-847-8510, email: Suzanne.Schwartz@fda.hhs.gov.
    Registration: Registration is free and available on a first-come, 
first-served basis. Persons interested in attending this public 
workshop must register online by 4 p.m., October 14, 2014. Early 
registration is recommended because facilities are limited and, 
therefore, FDA may limit the number of participants from each 
organization. If time and space permit, onsite registration on the day 
of the public workshop will be provided beginning at 8:30 a.m.
    If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please 
contact Susan Monahan, 301-796-5661, email: Susan.Monahan@fda.hhs.gov, 
no later than October 15, 2014.
    To register for the public workshop, please visit FDA's Medical 
Devices News & Events--Workshops & Conferences calendar at http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/NewsEvents/WorkshopsConferences/default.htm. 
(Select this public workshop from the posted events list.) Please 
provide complete contact information for each attendee, including name, 
title, affiliation, address, email, and telephone number. Those without 
Internet access should contact Suzanne Schwartz to register (see 
Contact Person). Registrants will receive confirmation after they have 
been accepted. You will be notified if you are on a waiting list.
    Streaming Webcast of the Public Workshop: This public workshop will 
also be Webcast. Persons interested in viewing the Webcast must 
register online by 4 p.m., October 14, 2014. Early registration is 
recommended because Webcast connections are limited. Organizations are 
requested to register all participants, but to view using one 
connection per location. Webcast participants will be sent technical 
system requirements after registration and will be sent connection 
access information after October 16, 2014. Most updated browsers will 
support the Webcast.
    Comments: FDA is holding this public workshop to obtain information 
on medical device cybersecurity. In order to permit the widest possible 
opportunity to obtain public comment,

[[Page 56815]]

FDA is soliciting either electronic or written comments on all aspects 
of the public workshop topics, regardless of attendance at the public 
workshop. The deadline for submitting comments related to this public 
workshop is November 24, 2014.
    Regardless of attendance at the public workshop, interested persons 
may submit either electronic comments regarding this document to http://www.regulations.gov or written comments to the Division of Dockets 
Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. It is only necessary to send one set of 
comments. Identify comments with the docket number found in brackets in 
the heading of this document. In addition, when responding to specific 
questions as outlined in section III of this document, please identify 
the question number you are addressing. Received comments may be seen 
in the Division of Dockets Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, and will be posted to the docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Transcripts: Please be advised that as soon as a transcript is 
available, it will be accessible at http://www.regulations.gov. It may 
be viewed at the Division of Dockets Management (see Comments). A 
transcript will also be available in either hardcopy or on CD-ROM, 
after submission of a Freedom of Information request. Written requests 
are to be sent to the Division of Freedom of Information (ELEM-1029), 
Food and Drug Administration, 12420 Parklawn Dr., Element Bldg., 
Rockville, MD 20857. A link to the transcripts will also be available 
approximately 45 days after the public workshop on the Internet at 
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/NewsEvents/WorkshopsConferences/default.htm. (Select this public workshop from the posted events list).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In February 2013, the President issued Executive Order 13636, 
``Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,'' recognizing that 
resilient infrastructure is essential to preserving national security, 
economic stability, and public health and safety in the United States 
(Ref. 1). Executive Order 13636 states that cyber threats to national 
security are among the most serious, so stakeholders must enhance the 
cybersecurity and resilience of critical infrastructure. This includes 
the HPH Sector. Furthermore, Presidential Policy Directive (P.P.D.) 21 
tasks Federal Government entities to strengthen the security and 
resilience of critical infrastructure against physical and cyber 
threats such that these efforts reduce vulnerabilities, minimize 
consequences, and identify and disrupt threats (Ref. 2). Moreover, 
P.P.D. 21 encourages all public and private owners and operators to 
share responsibility in achieving these outcomes. By convening this 
public meeting, FDA and its workshop partners strive to engage all 
stakeholders in HPH. These stakeholders include, but are not limited 
to: medical device manufacturers; healthcare facilities and personnel 
(e.g., healthcare providers, biomedical engineers, IT system 
administrators); professional and trade organizations (including 
medical device cybersecurity consortia); patient groups; insurance 
providers; cybersecurity researchers; local, State, and Federal 
Governments; and information security firms.
    Executive Order 13636 and P.P.D. 21 together serve as a call to 
action for promoting the cybersecurity of the Nation's critical 
infrastructure. The National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST) developed the ``Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 
Cybersecurity'' (``Framework'') with collective input from government 
agencies and the private sector to address Executive Order 13636's call 
for a voluntary, risk-based approach, harnessing a set of industry 
standards and best practices to manage cybersecurity risks (Ref. 3). 
P.P.D. 21 identifies critical sectors within the United States and 
charges each with adapting and implementing the Framework. HHS, as lead 
for the HPH Sector, seeks to adapt the Framework across its workspace. 
Developing a common lexicon is critical to this public-private 
collaboration to address and manage medical device cybersecurity risks. 
This workshop is an integral step towards the HPH Sector's collective 
understanding of the Framework and how it might be adapted to address 
the unique medical device cybersecurity needs and challenges within the 
sector.
    If exploited, cyber vulnerabilities may result in medical device 
malfunction, disruption of healthcare services including treatment 
interventions, inappropriate access to patient information, or 
compromised electronic health record data integrity. Such outcomes 
could have a profound impact on patient care and safety. As devices 
become more connected and interoperable, the threat potential 
increases. Now, rather than impacting a single device or single system, 
multiple devices or an entire hospital network may be compromised. 
Addressing medical device cybersecurity requires recognizing 
interoperability and interconnectivity. Therefore, enhancing security 
and resilience entails designing healthcare systems for seamless 
integration. Such integration will foster innovative and interoperable 
medical devices that protect and improve patient health and safety.
    Advancing medical device cybersecurity measures within the HPH 
Sector relies upon a `whole of community' approach that will require 
acceptance of a `shared ownership and shared responsibility' model. The 
objectives of such a model are twofold: (1) To seek solutions that 
incentivize businesses to adopt best practices and industry standards 
to be included in product design and systems architecture, and (2) to 
foster stakeholder collaboration such that emerging threat and 
vulnerability information is readily shared. This effort requires 
breaking down barriers and building trust between stakeholders. 
Ultimately, this effort will facilitate a forum to implement HPH cyber 
vulnerability and threat management.

II. Topics for Discussion at the Public Workshop

    The public workshop sessions will incorporate the following general 
themes:
     Envisioning a collaborative environment for information 
sharing and developing a shared risk-assessment framework using a 
common lexicon;
     Overcoming barriers (perceived and real) to create a 
community of `shared ownership and shared responsibility' within the 
HPH Sector to increase medical device cybersecurity;
     Gaining situational awareness of the current cyber threats 
to the HPH Sector, especially to medical devices;
     Identifying cybersecurity gaps and challenges, especially 
end-of-life support for legacy devices and interconnectivity of medical 
devices;
     Adapting and implementing the Framework to support 
management of cybersecurity risks involving medical devices;
     Developing tools and standards to build a comprehensive 
cybersecurity program to meet the unique needs of the sector's critical 
infrastructure, including medical devices;
     Leveraging the technical subject matter expertise of the 
cybersecurity researcher community working with HPH stakeholders to 
identify, assess, and mitigate vulnerabilities; and
     Building potential solutions: Exploring collaborative 
models to gather diverse experts and establish medical

[[Page 56816]]

device security benchmarks which are continuously validated.

III. Questions for Consideration

    FDA also requests HPH Sector stakeholders to provide perspective on 
the following:
    1. Are stakeholders aware of the ``Framework for Improving Critical 
Infrastructure Cybersecurity''? If so, how might we adapt/translate the 
Framework to meet the medical device cybersecurity needs of the HPH 
Sector?
    2. How can we establish partnerships within the HPH Sector to 
quickly identify, analyze, communicate, and mitigate cyber threats and 
medical device security vulnerabilities?
    3. How might the stakeholder community create incentives to 
encourage sharing information about medical device cyber threats and 
vulnerabilities?
    4. What lessons learned, case studies, and best practices (from 
within and external to the sector) might incentivize innovation in 
medical device cybersecurity for the HPH Sector? What are the 
cybersecurity gaps from each stakeholder's perspective: Knowledge, 
leadership, process, technology, risk management, or others? and,
    5. How do HPH stakeholders strike the balance between the need to 
share health information and the need to restrict access to it?
    The deadline for submitting answers to these questions for 
consideration and any other additional comments on the proposed 
workshop topics is October 7, 2014.

IV. References

1. Executive Order 13636, ``Improving Critical Infrastructure 
Cybersecurity,'' Feb. 19, 2013, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-02-19/pdf/2013-03915.pdf.
2. Presidential Policy Directive 21, ``Critical Infrastructure 
Security and Resilience,'' Feb. 12, 2013, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resil.
3. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
``Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,'' 
version 1, Feb. 12, 2014, available at http://www.nist.gov/cyberframework/upload/cybersecurity-framework-021214-final.pdf.

    Dated: September 17, 2014.
Leslie Kux,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-22515 Filed 9-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


