Hackers Try to Access FDA Data

When the FDA recently warned medical device manufacturers to take cyber security threats seriously and prepare for them, they weren't just spouting directives. They were talking from experience.

From January 2013 to June 2015, the FDA received 1,036 security incidents, according to FierceBiotechIT.

The media outlet cited a report in the Federal Times about the incidents, which were learned about through a freedom of information request.

Al Berman, President of DRI International and a healthcare security expert, told FierceBioTechIT that one of the reasons behind the hacks is for stock information.

"If you can hack the pharmaceutical [databases] and find out what their information on clinical testing is and get a preview of what the FDA is about to do, it's a huge, huge financial advantage," he told them.