Medical device vulnerabilities: what healthcare security teams must act on

TL;DR: Ordr reports that connected medical devices are expanding healthcare's attack surface, with 99% of hospitals managing at least one IoMT device with a known exploited vulnerability, 60% of devices end-of-life, and 77% of healthcare organisations targeted by ransomware in 2024. Clinical uptime is now inseparable from device visibility, segmentation, and risk-based remediation.

Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Ordr: “Medical Device Breach Statistics 2026 Report”.

By the numbers:

• 99% of hospitals manage at least one IoMT device with a known exploited vulnerability.
• 60% of medical devices are end-of-life with no available security patches.
• 77% of healthcare organizations were targeted by ransomware in 2024.

Key questions

Q: What breaks when medical devices stay on flat, unsegmented networks?

A: Flat networks let a compromise in one device class spread into imaging, patient monitoring, or building systems much faster.

Q: Why do unsupported medical devices create such high operational risk?

A: Unsupported devices cannot receive timely security fixes, so known vulnerabilities remain exploitable for long periods.

Q: How should healthcare teams prioritise medical device remediation?

A: Prioritise devices by clinical criticality, internet exposure, vulnerability status, and whether the system can be isolated without disrupting care.

Practitioner guidance

• Inventory device exposure by clinical function Classify medical, IoMT, IT, and OT assets by manufacturer, operating system, internet exposure, and support status so remediation can follow clinical criticality rather than raw vulnerability counts.
• Replace factory credentials on all reachable devices Prioritise devices still using weak or default credentials, especially those that cannot run endpoint agents or modern authentication controls, because credential reset is often the only immediate access barrier.
• Build compensating controls for end-of-life systems Use segmentation, restricted communication paths, and monitored exceptions for unsupported devices that cannot be patched, and document the residual risk as a governance decision.

Bottom line: Connected medical devices expand healthcare's attack surface because many of them remain exposed, unsupported, or weakly authenticated.

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