In 2012 an episode of the TV series Homeland , Vice President William Walden was assassinated by a terrorist who supports hacks in his pacemaker and Internet accelerates heartbeat until it has a heart attack. A flight of fancy? Not everyone thinks.
Internet security experts have warned for years that such devices are open to both data theft and remote control by a hacker. In 07, the cardiologist of Vice President Dick Cheney wireless functionality has deactivated his pacemaker because of all the risk. "It seemed like a bad idea for the vice president to have a device that maybe someone on a rope line or in the next room or down might be able to get in- hack "said the cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, in a television interview last year.
medical devices such as insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring, and pacemakers or defibrillators have become increasingly small and portable in recent years. They often connect with a hand controller for short distances using Bluetooth. Often, the controller or the device itself is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi so that data can be sent directly to clinicians. But security experts have shown that with readily available equipment, a user manual, and the PIN number of the device, they can take control of a device or monitor data it sends.
Medical devices do not receive regular security updates, such as phones and smart computers, because changes to their software may require a new certification by regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug US administration (FDA). And the FDA has focused on reliability, user safety and ease of use, not the protection against malicious attacks. In a safety communication in 2013, the agency said it "is not aware of any injuries or patient deaths associated with these incidents nor we have an indication that all specific devices or systems to clinical use have been deliberately targeted at this time. " FDA said it would "expect medical device manufacturers to take appropriate measures" to protect the devices. Manufacturers are beginning to wake up to the issue and use of security experts to strengthen their systems. But unless measures become mandatory, it may take a fatal attack on an important person for security gap to be closed.
for more information on privacy and take a quiz on your own IQ privacy, see "the end of privacy" special section in this week's issue of science .
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