How to Prevent Heart Hackers From Turning Off Pacemakers


	How to Prevent Heart Hackers From Turning Off Pacemakers

clip-on-tie

11-11-2009 9:15 AM

141 views

tags:

computers, hackers, privacy

clip-on-tie says:

Image: flickr / library_mistress

1 Comment |

Add a Comment

11-11-2009 1:18 PM

ricksnares

That could raise some serious havoc, just imagine if it was a government provided health care pacemaker......

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from November 11, 2009

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/81737042-4c89-4028-89fa-c5891e49091a/AA9DBFC6-784F-4715-A883-3CBF03443D3A/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/" href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/" style="font-size: 11px;">blogs.discovermagazine.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/"> But fitting pacemakers or implanted defibrillators with WiFi also opens the door to <A href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/tag/hackers/">hackers</A>‘ attacks. Hackers could potentially steal personal information, remotely drain batteries, or cause a dangerous malfunction, so researchers are working on ways to block them.<SPAN> The approach relies on using ultrasound waves to determine the exact distance between a medical device and the wireless reader attempting to communicate with it </SPAN></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/"><div align="center"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/blogs.discovermagazine.com/img/715B45B3-E046-4163-B750-55290192CA19" alt="no-pacemaker-sign-web" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/">The plan is to only allow access to a medical device from <A href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/tag/computers/">wireless reading devices</A> within 10 feet, and only then after a series of authentication steps. However, in the event of an emergency, the medical device would grant access to anyone within a few inches of the device. In other words, to anyone close enough to assist. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/11/11/how-to-prevent-heart-hackers-from-turning-off-pacemakers/"><SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN>because the device won’t respond to requests that come from outside the predetermined distance, it would also be harder for an attacker to wear down the battery by forcing it to process one request after another </SPAN></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/AA9DBFC6-784F-4715-A883-3CBF03443D3A/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

New from the makers of Clipmarks: Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Today's Top Clips