St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced that it is forming a Cyber Security Medical Advisory Board (CSMAB) to advise us as we continue to advance cyber security standards in the medical device industry by working with experts and government agencies. We recognize that improving technology to address cyber security risks must be balanced with how to best care for patients benefitting from medical devices. Creating the CSMAB ensures we receive direct feedback from leading physicians on patient management considerations. St. Jude Medical’s ongoing commitment is to ensure our medical device ecosystem always puts patient safety at the forefront.

“Our mission is to deliver innovative technologies that save and improve lives,” said Dr. Mark Carlson, chief medical officer at St. Jude Medical. “We take the cyber security of our devices very seriously and creating the Cyber Security Medical Advisory Board is one more demonstration of our ongoing commitment to advancing standards of patient care around the world without comprising safety and security.”

St. Jude Medical has spent years working with third-party experts, researchers, and government agencies to assess potential vulnerabilities, prioritize real-world threat levels, and then develop appropriate safeguards as part of the company’s product development process.

“We are in the process of finalizing membership for the Cyber Security Medical Advisory Board, and we will announce its members once finalized,” said Dr. Carlson. “We anticipate this Board will work with technology experts at St. Jude Medical as well as external researchers to help us maintain and enhance cyber security and patient safety.”

“We recognize that cyber security is an ongoing challenge for many industries and it is essential that medical device companies have a clinical perspective when assessing the security of their products,” said Dr. Leslie A. Saxon, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) and executive director of the USC Center for Body Computing. “I look forward to working closely with the medical experts on the Board to assess cyber security risks and how they may affect patient care and safety.”

Establishing the CSMAB will help ensure that St. Jude Medical’s cyber security protections continue to be innovative and meet the demands of the dynamic cyber security environment without jeopardizing patient care. Patient care is, and has always been, our top priority.