CISA issued a medical advisory regarding a vulnerability in BPL Medical Technologies’ PWS-01-BT personal weighing scale and the Be Well Android app. The advisory highlights a “cleartext transmission of sensitive information” issue, where the devices send sensitive data in unencrypted BLE packets, which lack both authentication and integrity protection. This flaw enables attackers to intercept and potentially modify the information being processed, posing significant risks to users’ privacy and security. The vulnerability has been assigned the CVE-2024-34463 identifier, with CVSS v3.1 and v4 base scores of 4.6 and 5.1, respectively.
This vulnerability affects a range of devices deployed across the global healthcare and public health sector, primarily used in personal health monitoring. CISA warned that the unencrypted data transmission, combined with the lack of protections, makes these devices vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Successful exploitation of this flaw could allow attackers to tamper with the sensitive data being transmitted, leading to potential privacy violations or misuse of medical information. CISA’s alert emphasized the need for immediate attention to safeguard the affected devices.
Despite CISA’s disclosure of the issue, BPL Medical Technologies has yet to respond to requests for collaboration on resolving the vulnerability. As a result, CISA urged users to take independent measures to mitigate the risks associated with the flaw. This includes minimizing network exposure to vulnerable devices, ensuring they are not directly accessible from the internet, and placing control system networks behind firewalls to isolate them from business networks. Users are also encouraged to employ secure remote access methods, such as VPNs, while understanding that VPNs should be regularly updated to maintain their effectiveness.
The advisory concluded with a reminder for organizations to carefully assess the risks and impact of exploiting this vulnerability, as well as to implement CISA’s recommended cybersecurity practices. Despite the lack of public reports of exploitation, CISA encourages users to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities related to these devices. By taking proactive steps, organizations can minimize the potential impact of this vulnerability on healthcare systems and ensure the continued security of sensitive data.
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