Performance problems and blockchain’s association with criminal use are obstacles Credit: Partners Healthcare Deputy CISO Esmond Kane/Photo by Tim Greene BOSTON — Blockchain can help secure medical devices and improve patient privacy, but the key is proper implementation, according to a top security pro at Partners Healthcare.The downsides would include mistrust of the technology because of blockchain’s potential performance problems, and its association with ransomware and use as payment for illegal items on the Dark Web, Partners’ Deputy CISO Esmond Kane told the SecureWorld audience this week in Boston.On the other hand, the decentralized, encrypted public ledger could have a wealth of applications in healthcare, Kane says. These include streamlining the resolution of insurance claims, management of internet of things medical devices and providing granular privacy settings for personal medical data. MORE FROM SECUREWORLD: Cisco researcher says ransomware crowd big on customer service Partners Healthcare is interested in it for giving patients the ability to set different privacy settings on their medical information. The mechanics haven’t been worked out, but by breaking down records into components and granting access piece by piece, there would be less risk of over-privileging any potential recipient.The blockchain would be able to control, for example, who can gain access to certain information such as whether an employee was being treated for a psychological disorder, he says. That information could be designated off limits to the employer, but accessible to the patient’s insurer. The technology could be used to speed up resolution of insurance claims by having records posted to a private blockchain that would allow accessing updated data by all parties, reducing the need for transmitting the data and building the infrastructure for sending it, he says. This could also cut costs.Medical devices could be given unique identifiers and information about them could be stored in a shared ledger accessible by other systems to automate maintenance and management, he says.Public vs private blockchainsUse of public blockchains can have scaling problems particularly when it’s used for encryption. Delays can be significant, he says. Private blockchain services from IBM, Amazon and Microsoft, give much better service levels, he says.Blockchain can’t be undertaken lightly. Financial technology pros say its use calls for extra key management infrastructure, Kane says.He notes that several public blockchains have run into security problems, not necessarily because the blockchain itself was faulty but because of how it was implemented.Since blockchain is decentralized, public blockchains with nodes in other countries may present problems if they don’t move to new code bases as revisions become available. Related content opinion Are you okay? Understanding the world of a CISO It's important to acknowledge the emotional and mental stress placed on the CISO, and to take action when it becomes overwhelming. By Tyler Farrar Mar 28, 2024 5 mins CSO and CISO Careers news analysis Software supply chain attack impacts repo of large Discord bot community The incident shows the snowball effect a single malicious package can have on the open-source development ecosystem. By Lucian Constantin Mar 27, 2024 6 mins DevSecOps Malware Supply Chain brandpost Sponsored by Fortinet Don’t let microbranch security be your network’s weak link Protecting smaller branches of your enterprise might seem like hard work, but failure to secure these sites leaves a critical opening to malicious actors. By Nirav Shah Mar 27, 2024 5 mins Network Security brandpost Sponsored by Fortinet For the hybrid workforce, SASE-delivered zero trust is a must SASE protects users regardless of location through zero-trust network access (ZTNA), an access control method that provides access via continuous, session-based identification and authentication. By Peter Newton Mar 27, 2024 5 mins Network Security PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe