Pacemakers / Pacemakers Remotely Hacked

The truth is that the more complex the devices become, and the more active the integration of such devices into the system, the more dangerous the actions of crackers can be. Many times they talked about the remote control of "smart homes" and other systems, but this time the craftsmen went even further and were able to learn how to control the heart pacemaker, and remotely, from 9 meters.

At a conference of computer security experts held yesterday in Melbourne, Australia, a craftsman named Barnaby Jack (IO Activ) demonstrated the possibility of remote hacking a pacemaker that controls the heartbeat rhythm. For this, the hacker needed a laptop, device model, and serial numbers. After receiving all the necessary information, Barnaby was able to update the firmware of the device, having received full control of the heart pacemaker (of course, the craftsman carried out all operations on a separate device, which for obvious reasons did not control the human cardiovascular system).

So, Barnaby was able to remotely turn off the pacemaker, and even caused a discharge of 850 volts, which would probably just kill the carrier. A hacker (I use this term in a positive sense) performed his work in order to demonstrate the vulnerability of their devices to medical equipment companies. He said that in many cases it is not difficult to establish full control of such devices, and there is no need to undergo authentication of any kind.

In general, a fairly clear demonstration, I would hope that the manufacturers of such systems will attend to the creation of a reliable security system for their devices. Otherwise, many people who go with pacemakers and other similar devices become potentially vulnerable to cybercriminals. And here we are not talking about the theft of a couple or two thousand dollars from the account, but about the health and even human life.

Dvice