Doctors warn that medical implants may be the hacker’s future goals

As the technology for medical implants becomes more sophisticated, researchers warn they may be the main target of cyber-security intrusion. A new essay published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology focuses on the potential risk of hacking of medical implants such as pacemakers. This research brings some good news but also urges the design of medical devices in the future to be cautious.

At present, the vast majority of medical implants have limited remote connections and cannot be stolen or altered by hackers. However, some of the newer implants have long-range monitoring capabilities that allow physicians to keep a close watch on a patient’s health without the need for a referral.

Dhanunjaya R. Lakkireddy MD, of the University of Kansas Hospital, and co-author of the paper, said: “True cybersecurity begins at the point of designing protected software from the outset, and requires the integration of multiple stakeholders, including software experts, security experts, and medical advisors.” The urgency of a prospective safety function for doctors has much in common with both the medical community and the patients themselves.

The risk of potentially breakable medical implants is enormous. Medical devices that can be remotely adjusted are clearly the most serious targets, but even implants that transmit information can drain battery cells and make the patient vulnerable. However, while theoretically dangerous, doctors still do not see any common problems that arise in the real world.

Lakkireddy said: “The likelihood of an individual hacker successfully penetrating a cardiovascular implantable electronic device or locking a particular patient is very low.More likely, malware or ransomware attacks affect the hospital’s network and block communications.”

This essay urges researchers and medical professionals to show extreme caution in the design and implementation of remotely accessible medical systems. Dangers may not be serious, but as more and more medical implants use wireless diagnostic and tracking capabilities, they are almost certain to become a bigger target.

Source: bgr