Researchers have demonstrated that implantable defibrillators and pacemakers can be hacked from the outside, leading to all manner of undesirable outcomes.
It’s not surprising that implantable devices are programmable through a wireless interface. This capability lets a physician adjust a device’s settings without opening the patient up. But it’s also not surprising that the wireless interfaces and programming protocols were not sufficiently hardened against deliberate attack. Such attacks could cause the device to shock or mistime, but could also deplete the battery.
In addition, the researchers investigated potential defenses against such attacks, and their report is encouraging (www.secure-medicine.org/icd-study/icd-study.pdf). They stress repeatedly that these attacks are, so far, only theoretical, and that patients with such devices should not be concerned at this point.
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