SBOM and Vulnerability Debt Management
A major advancement in 2026 is the widespread adoption of the Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). Regulators like the FDA now require manufacturers to provide a transparent "ingredient list" of every software component, library, and third-party code used within a medical device.
Hospitals use these SBOMs to manage their "Vulnerability Debt." When a new software flaw is discovered globally, security teams no longer have to manually search through thousands of machines. Their management systems automatically scan the SBOM database, identifying every device at risk within seconds. This allows for "Virtual Patching"—where a firewall rule is deployed specifically for that device to block the exploit before an official manufacturer patch is even released.