Conference:  Defcon 31

Authors: Christian “quaddi” Dameff MD Physician & Medical Director of Cyber Security at The University of California San Diego, Jacqueline Burgette, DMD, PhD White House Fellow in The Office of National Cyber Director (ONCD), Jeff “r3plicant” Tully MD Anesthesiologist at The University of California San Diego, Nitin Natarajan Deputy Director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Senator Mark Warner Virginia Senator and Chair of the US Cybersecurity Caucus, Suzanne Schwartz MD Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation (FDA)

2023-08-01

In 2016 a bunch of hackers took a break from DEF CON festivities to gather in a hotel room with a bathtub full of beer and talk about shared interests in a brave new world of connected healthcare. Trailblazers were popping pacemakers and pharmaceutical pumps, and we worried that instead of embracing such efforts as opportunities to make tech safer for patients, folks in charge would repeat mistakes of the past and double down on the status quo. Fast forward to the 2022 passage of the Omnibus spending bill- the FDA is now locked and loaded with expanded authority to regulate cybersecurity requirements for medical devices. What changed? *Keanu voice:* “Policy. Lots of Policy.” Turns out when we get in with the right people, hackers can help get things done. This is the core of Policy @ DEF CON. Challenges persist. We now have threats from state actors and ransomware blasts delaying lifesaving medical care while costing hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars they don’t have (been in an ER lately?). So once again, come join quaddi and r3plicant, your favorite ripper docs, for another round of D0 No H4rm- this time with special guests from Congress, FDA, and the White House as we figure out what policy patches have the best chance to save lives. It starts here, in rooms like this, with hackers like you. And it ends with us changing the world.