The theft of medical data, which is intrinsically valuable, can lead to loss of patient privacy and trust. With increasing requirements for valuable and accurate information, patients need to be confident that their data is being stored safely and securely. However, medical devices are vulnerable to attacks from the digital domain, with many devices transmitting data unencrypted wirelessly to electronic patient record systems. As such, it is now becoming more necessary to visualise data patterns and trends in order identify erratic and anomalous data behaviours. In this paper, a system design for modelling data flow within healthcare infrastructures is presented. The system assists information security officers within healthcare organisations to improve the situational awareness of cyber security risks. In addition, a visualisation of TCP Socket Connections using real-world network data is put forward, in order to demonstrate the framework and present an analysis of potential risks.
Visualising complex data facilitates a more comprehensive stage for conveying knowledge. Within the medical data domain, there is an increasing requirement for valuable and accurate information. Patients need to be confident that their data is being stored safely and securely. As such, it is now becoming necessary to visualise data patterns and trends in real-time to identify erratic and anomalous network access behaviours. In this paper, an investigation into modelling data flow within healthcare infrastructures is presented; where a dataset from a Liverpool-based (UK) hospital is employed for the case study. Specifically, a visualisation of transmission control protocol (TCP) socket connections is put forward, as an investigation into the data complexity and user interaction events within healthcare networks. In addition, a filtering algorithm is proposed for noise reduction in the TCP dataset. Positive results from using this algorithm are apparent on visual inspection, where noise is reduced by up to 89.84%.