A patient support, such as a hospital bed, provided with a control circuit comprising a controller, memory, a communication interface, and a processor. The memory stores data related to the patient support. The controller includes a port, such as a USB port, or similar device, for providing an encryption key to the controller memory. The processor outputs data only when an encryption key is present in the memory. Before outputting in data, the processor may encrypt and/or digitally sign the data using the key. The outputting of data may be in response to an encrypted and/or digitally signed request.
