Security for US military medical data
Swedish company Pointsec, a provider of enterprise security software
for laptop and desktop computers, has announced it is to supply the US
Army with a security solution to protect patient data being transferred
from treatment centres all over the world.
US Army medical staff in Medical Communications for Combat Casualty
Care (MC4) will be supplied with 11,000 Hewlett-Packard Pocket PCs loaded
with Pointsec encryption technology.
The Army’s mobile medical teams work all over the world treating
soldiers in hostile environments. They require the quick and secure
delivery of patient information and to this end have launched an
initiative to eliminate paper-based systems and replace them with an
automated digital system. This will be used to link healthcare providers,
medical diagnostic systems, information and medical command-and-control
systems.
The Pointsec for the Pocket PC security product works on the MS Windows
Mobile operating system and offers automatic, real-time encryption of all
data — including that created using MS Outlook email, Notes, and Pocket
Word. The application also automatically secures data on removable media
such as MicroDrives and Compact Flash cards.
Peter Larsson, CEO of Pointsec, says: “We are proud to be selected by
the US Army to bring enhanced security to the military and its mobile
battlefield. Pointsec solutions provide the military with the confidence
that only authorised personnel are accessing sensitive medical data so
that patients can receive the best medical care.”
Ray Steen, of US Army Public Affairs, says: “MC4’s mission is to provide
medics with the tools they need to treat casualties at all levels of care
in theatre. Level one, battlefield healthcare, requires a certain amount
of mobility, which is why MC4 equips medical units with handheld
computers, so they can input each encounter immediately. This digitised
encounter benefits the soldier, the deployed medical professional and the
combatant commander, so by utilising endpoint security technology on
handheld devices, MC4 can rest assured the information remains protected.”
Source: bjhc&im July 2005
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