Pentest for Health Apps

Health apps are an attractive target for attack because they contain a lot of sensitive data. Such data can be used for a wide variety of purposes and is also suitable for social engineering. In addition, medical devices and systems are closely networked within practices and hospitals. It is therefore important to regularly test the systems used for potential security vulnerabilities by means of pentests.

Definition and Explanation

What is Health App Penetration Testing?

Health apps offer many advantages from which patients can benefit in many ways. However, they also harbor a high risk potential for your sensitive data. A mobile app that collects and stores your data must be secure. Otherwise, it is possible for third parties to read your logs or exploit vulnerabilities in the app to cause widespread damage. Of course, it is not desirable for such data to be sold to third parties, nor is it desirable for any disease histories to fall into foreign hands. That's why health apps need to be more secure than most other everyday apps you carry on your smartphone, and checked with penetration testing.

Pentesting for Medical Products

Penetration Testing for Health Apps

This makes the field of health apps an exciting one in which to make good use of a penetration test. First and foremost, it provides additional security for anyone who wants to rely on data-driven healthcare apps.

Cyber Security for Apps

Protect your Healthcare Applications from Criminals with High Cyber Security!

The pentest for health apps is planned, executed and evaluated by our specially trained cyber security consultants according to recognized standards.

A medical device is basically a product that you use for a specific medical purpose. Such products or services must be adequately tested. This is the only way to ensure that the values you enter are in good hands. And likewise, the sensitive data cannot be misused wantonly. Medical products as apps are mostly known as medical apps, medical software or also as health apps.

Of particular importance in these tests is the data that comes in via fitness or health apps. Connected to different trackers, they can store the values for blood pressure, heart rate or even blood sugar.

Established IT Security Standards

We Perform Pentests based on Recognized IT Security Standards and Guidelines

Data received via fitness or health apps is particularly important for these tests. Connected to various trackers, they can store values for blood pressure, heart rate or even blood sugar. For doctors, this is an additional source of information, but in the wrong hands it can be falsified, manipulated or sent to third parties without authorization. This makes measures such as the Pentest an important investment: both for the IT security of users and for reliability in the medical field.

The acronym DiGA stands for "Digital Health Applications." This is a new benefit category of the statutory health insurance. This means that as soon as you have statutory health insurance, you are entitled to digital health app care. The classic use cases of health apps include:

Assistance for a Better Life: Opportunities to better understand existing conditions like diabetes and establish meaningful habits in everyday life.
Diagnostics App: A diagnostic app that can evaluate whether a mole has changed suspiciously based on a photo.
Interactive Exercises: Interactive exercises designed for chronic pain and tailored to your personal condition.

Case Study - Penetration Tests

Why are Penetration Tests so Important for Medical Products?

Medical products also require a high level of attention for DiGa approval. Therefore, it is important to regularly test the apps used for potential security vulnerabilities.

Penetration tests are one such option: since they subject both the infrastructure and the software solutions such as health apps to detailed testing, depending on the area of use. This not only allows vulnerabilities to be identified. Within the scope of a pentest, measures against these security vulnerabilities are also suggested and can subsequently be implemented.

Of particular importance in these tests are the data received via fitness or health apps. Connected to various trackers, they can store the values for blood pressure, heart rate or even blood sugar.