IoT Security Challenges in Healthcare: Navigating Risks, Strategies, and Innovations for a Safer Connected Health Ecosystem

The pervasive integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare has revolutionized the industry, offering unprecedented opportunities for enhanced patient care and management. However, this transformative integration brings forth a myriad of security challenges that necessitate comprehensive exploration and understanding. This paper delves into the intricate landscape of IoT security challenges in health care, providing a structured analysis of key dimensions. The research begins with an overview of IoT in healthcare, outlining its significance and the potential benefits it brings. Subsequently, the focus shifts to delineate the multifaceted security challenges encountered in this dynamic ecosystem. These challenges encompass data privacy and confidentiality, authentication and authorization issues, vulnerabilities associated with devices, network security concerns, and the physical security of IoT devices. Moreover, the absence of standardization in IoT implementations emerges as a noteworthy challenge. To address these challenges, the paper explores risk assessment and mitigation strategies, offering insights into proactive measures and best practices for bolstering IoT security in healthcare settings. A futuristic lens is applied to discern evolving trends and innovations in healthcare IoT security, scrutinizing the dynamic threat landscape and emerging technologies that promise enhanced security. Additionally, the research spotlights the instrumental role of various technologies such as blockchain and multi-layered intrusion detection approaches in fortifying IoT security for healthcare applications. The exploration culminates in a discussion on the benefits of IoT in healthcare, accentuating privacy-preserving authentication schemes, secure healthcare platforms using blockchain, and multi-layered intrusion detection approaches.