How Keep Hackers out of Medical Devices
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Scientists work to keep hackers
out of implanted medical devices
Nathanael Paul likes the convenience of insulin pump that regulates his diabetes. It communicates with other gadgets wirelessly and adjusts his blood sugar levels automatically.
But, a few years ago, the computer scientist started to worry about the security of this setup.What if someone hacked into that system and sent his blood sugar levels plummeting? Or skyrocketing? Those scenarios could be fatal.
"If your computer fails, no one dies,"he said. "If your insulin pump fails, you have problems." As sci-fi as it sounds, Paul's fears are founded in reality. Researchers say it is possible for hackers to access and remotely control medical devices like insulin pumps, pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators, all of which emit wireless signals.
In 2008, a coalition of researchers from the University of Washington, Harvard Medical School and the Univesity of Massachusetts at Amherst wrote that they remotely accessed a common cardiac defibrillator using easy-to-find radio and computer equipment. In a lab, the researchers used their wireless access to steal personal information from the device and to induce fatal heart rhythms by taking control of the system. in the two years since that finding, some computer scientists have been on a quest for security fixes for these potentially life saving devices. Paul, a research scientist with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, is among them.He's mocking up a design for a more secure insulin pump that cuts some of the wireless connections between parts of the system.
Others are looking for security solutions for pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators, which are embedded inside a patient and can adjust his heart rhythms.
But, a few years ago, the computer scientist started to worry about the security of this setup.What if someone hacked into that system and sent his blood sugar levels plummeting? Or skyrocketing? Those scenarios could be fatal.
"If your computer fails, no one dies,"he said. "If your insulin pump fails, you have problems." As sci-fi as it sounds, Paul's fears are founded in reality. Researchers say it is possible for hackers to access and remotely control medical devices like insulin pumps, pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators, all of which emit wireless signals.
In 2008, a coalition of researchers from the University of Washington, Harvard Medical School and the Univesity of Massachusetts at Amherst wrote that they remotely accessed a common cardiac defibrillator using easy-to-find radio and computer equipment. In a lab, the researchers used their wireless access to steal personal information from the device and to induce fatal heart rhythms by taking control of the system. in the two years since that finding, some computer scientists have been on a quest for security fixes for these potentially life saving devices. Paul, a research scientist with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, is among them.He's mocking up a design for a more secure insulin pump that cuts some of the wireless connections between parts of the system.
Others are looking for security solutions for pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators, which are embedded inside a patient and can adjust his heart rhythms.
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