Carleton University launches $2 million project to improve e-health system security

Carleton University launches $2 million project to improve e-health system security

INTRO: funding will go toward investigating how e-health systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks

Carleton University and its partners have initiated a project valued at about $2 million through the Department of National Defence's Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) for research on e-health systems security enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT).

The funding they’ll receive over three years will go toward investigating how e-health systems can become vulnerable to cyberattacks, especially with the large-scale adoption of IoT devices.

Research will be led by Professor Mohamed Ibnkahla who is also the NSERC/Cisco senior industrial research chair for the Sensor Networks for the Internet of Things, and co-investigator Jason Jaskolka, of the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering.

“We are developing a prototype system capable of enhancing the privacy and protection of information, and the resilience of connected devices in the health sector, through the early detection and prevention of cyberattacks,” says Ibnkahla.

The project will provide technological solutions that can be used within the Canadian health sector to allow safe, secure and reliable IoT-enabled e-health systems.

The professor plans to roll out a real-world demonstration of these new technologies in a hospital but no date has been spefied yet. The project will also help create a road map for the security of IoT-enabled e-health systems in Canada and include a best practices guide for health-care professionals, the medical devices industry and governments.

For more information on the initiative, visit Carleton University's website.