PHILADELPHIA and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 13,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MedCrypt, an early-stage medical
device software security company, today announced the closing of
$750,000 in seed round financing led
by Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE) and a group of angel
investors. Proceeds will be used to conduct commercial pilots with
leading medical device vendors.
"The increased use of, and dependency on, connected devices at
hospitals and health systems has revealed security risks and
vulnerabilities, consequently putting patient safety at risk," said
Mike Kijewski, co-founder and CEO of
MedCrypt. "While it's distressing to think about a hacker remotely
disabling a medical device, it's far more unnerving to consider a
hacker silently taking over a device and sending it malicious
instructions, resulting in a patient's injury or worse, death.
MedCrypt's software allows manufacturers to authenticate users,
encrypt data, and cryptographically sign settings and patient
prescriptions. MedCrypt also has the ability to monitor
transactions between clinicians and devices for malicious behavior,
protecting struggling health networks from unforeseen cyber
threats. Our technology is designed to ensure that only
instructions from a trusted source are executed by the medical
device."
In recent years, patient data has become increasingly at-risk
due to a combination of sophisticated attacks and antiquated IT
environments at health systems. An uptick in ransomware attacks has
also contributed to greater demand for solutions that improve
patient safety and secure health records. The Food and Drug
Administration has responded accordingly, calling for device
manufacturers to strengthen their software security.
MedCrypt's technology addresses current weaknesses by working
with manufactures to prevent unauthorized access and use of their
medical devices. The architecture leverages a
machine-learning-based behavior analysis system to immediately flag
unusual user behavior, as well as a "Threat Sharing" feature
designed to facilitate anonymous communication between multiple
medical device vendors. In this way, MedCrypt protects health
systems' IT environment from unauthorized access through medical
devices, thereby protecting patient data and avoiding patient harm.
The software is compatible with a wide range of devices, from MRI
machines to defibrillators. As the technology is deployed across
multiple medical devices, MedCrypt's Threat Sharing features will
allow a vendor to know what active security threats are targeting
other medical devices, without having to share their specific
vulnerabilities with others.
Kijewski and partner Eric
Pancoast began laying the groundwork for MedCrypt in 2014,
after the successful sale of their medical physics-related software
company, Gamma Basics. The duo first teamed up in 2008 while
Kijewski was a student at the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School. MedCrypt co-founder
Brett Hemenway, Ph.D., a
cryptographer and research professor at the University of Pennsylvania, serves as the company's
chief scientific officer.
"Device manufacturers, health systems, and patients all stand to
benefit from MedCrypt's proprietary software," said Safeguard's
Managing Director, Gary Kurtzman, M.D. who was Kijewski's professor
at Wharton and who is also
Chairman of the Board at MedCrypt. "Behind this company are a
proven team and a technology with the potential to disrupt the way
device manufacturers design products for the healthcare industry.
Battling cyber threats begins at the design phase, and technology
like this complements our efforts to holistically improve
healthcare delivery."
Other angel investors in the seed funding include co-founders of
ThingWorx, a former Safeguard partner company that was acquired by
PTC in 2015; the co-founder/CEO of Coldlight; the Wharton Alumni
Angel Network; the former Chair of Radiology at the University of Calgary; and the CIO of Christiana
Care Health System. MedCrypt's advisory board includes CIOs and
CISOs from major health systems, as well as former executives from
leading medical device companies.
About MedCrypt
MedCrypt is a team of medical device
and cryptography experts building "security as a service" for
connected medical devices. The company has an initial fundraising
round from a group of angel investors with deep connections in the
Medical Device and Internet of Things spaces. For more information,
visit www.medcrypt.co.
About Safeguard Scientifics
Safeguard Scientifics
(NYSE: SFE) provides capital and relevant expertise to fuel the
growth of technology-driven businesses in healthcare, financial
services and digital media. Safeguard targets companies that are
capitalizing on the next wave of enabling technologies with a
particular focus on the Internet of Everything, enhanced security
and predictive analytics. Safeguard typically deploys between
$5 million and $25 million over the
course of its partnership with a company, initially investing in a
Series A or B Round and opportunistically in a Seed Round.
Safeguard has a distinguished track record of fostering innovation
and building market leaders that spans more than six decades. For
more information, please visit www.safeguard.com or
follow us on Twitter @safeguard.
MEDIA CONTACT FOR SAFEGUARD AND MEDCRYPT:
Heather R. Hunter
Vice President, Corporate Communications
610.975.4923
hhunter(at)safeguard(dot)com
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/406907LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medcrypt-raises-750000-seed-round-to-develop-medical-device-software-security-platform-300326885.html
SOURCE MedCrypt