New tricks: Kill people with implantable equipment

Subcutaneous implantable medical devices are vulnerable to remote control by bad guys to jeopardize the life of patients, new studies have said.

Security experts have tried to attack and control implanted implants including pacemakers to help regulate heart rate, insulin-powered pumps and defibrillators that monitor abnormal heart rhythms.

The implant device is not secured so it is easily manipulated.

Barnaby Jack, a researcher at McAfee, found that the connections used to control the device were easily interfered with by bad guys.

GS. Kevin Fu of Massachusetts Amherst University (USA) also found similar results.

'If we can only know how to protect these systems after the incident, it's too late. I wish that this issue would be resolved before it happened, "said Prof. Fu.

GS. Fu discovered that it could interfere with the pumping of insulin into a patient's body from a distance of 91m without an identification code. He could also receive control signals for the operation of a defibrillator.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators are tested by radio signal when first implanted in the patient. Laboratory research shows that it is possible to receive signals and use it to turn off the device easily.

Because the battery of a medical device has a very short lifespan, it is not possible to use any authentication or encryption to protect the signal coming out and entering the device. Therefore, these devices are extremely vulnerable to attack.

Scientists say more research is needed to find ways to protect skin implants against malicious actions.

Today, more and more people are dependent on implantable devices to monitor vital signs of the body, in order to promptly intervene when needed.

According to experts, implant manufacturers should think about their product safety measures to protect users from the risk of being attacked.