Among users of neurotechnology, there is often questions about if this kind of devices is secure when it comes to their privacy, and this is definitely important question to ask, as we know there can always be dangers to using technology; however, this is not only technology, it is your body too, and because of that before getting a device of such kind into the hands of anyone, regulations were created to avoid any potential risk that interacting with this devices could cause, and because of that we can say today that neurotechnology is as secure as it can be. This is due to all of this information being protected under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and also by the field of Computer security and privacy. Together they work to ensure that your information is as secure as it can be and that your device will always be under your and your control only, and cant be accessed by third parties.
First lets go a little deeper into the devices themselves, one could think that neurotechnology devises would record private and identifiable information, this is a common misconception that runs in the mind of may people when it comes to the topic of neurotechnology; if it is true that some devices might record some type of info, it only refers to info related to the condition being treated and the response of the patient to the stimuli, if a device was to record any type of personal info it would be most likely because it is linked to an app, even thought for the most part, neurotechnology devices will not record anything at all, and less when it comes to the users private info, one good example are cochlear implants, which works by directly stimulating the auditory nerve so the user is able to receive auditory input even when parts of their ear had suffered damage.
But then again what assures that the information recorded by those devices that record some type of data is not accessed by any unwanted third parties?
well this is where both HIPAA and the Computer security and privacy field come to play an important role. First lets take a look at the computer security and privacy field, this field makes sure that three standards are maintained when it comes to technology, and way more when it comes to neurotechnology. It maintain the standards of confidentiality, integrity and also availability, with the work they get done, attackers should not be able to use the device to learn any private information from the user (confidentially), also it enables the attacker to start unauthorized operations or controlling the device in any form (integrity). Lastly the attacker cannot disable the device and leave it ineffective at any time (availability).
Then we also have HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which is a U.S. law that was enacted in 1996 and was designed to protect individual's health information. It also consists of three main rules. The first one is the Privacy rule which stablishes certain standards that are to be followed by healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses as well as any other business that handles patients medical records and other personal health information also referred as (PHI). The second rule is the Security rule, which focuses on safeguarding electronic protected information, this would mean keeping data encrypted, using secure access controls and also giving employees regular training on cybersecurity to ensure they keep the patients info as safe as possible. Lastly the last standard is the Breach Notification Rule which mandates that organizations notify individuals, the department of health and human services in the event of a data breach involving PHI so that the patient and competent authorities can take action as soon as possible.
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