# Medical implants vulnerable to hacking



## Flea (Aug 5, 2011)

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or under Horror Stories ...

_Security researcher Jay Radcliffe is a diabetic who is connected to an insulin pump and glucose monitor at all times. He said that combination of devices turned him into a Human SCADA system. Radcliffe decided to find out if proprietary wireless communication could be reverse-engineered and a device used to launch an injection attack that would manipulate a diabetic's insulin and possibly cause a patient's death. [ ... ] After conducting his research, Radcliffe told the Associated Press, "My initial reaction was that this was really cool from a technical perspective. The second reaction was one of maybe sheer terror, to know that there's no security around the devices which are a very active part of keeping me alive."__According to Radcliffe, an attacker could intercept wireless signals and then broadcast a stronger signal to change the blood-sugar level readout on an insulin pump so that the person wearing the pump would adjust their insulin dosage. ... Radcliffe suggested scenarios where an attacker could be within a couple hundred feet of a victim, like being on the same airplane or on the same hospital floor, and then launch a wireless attack against the medical device. He added that with a powerful enough antenna, the malicious party could launch an attack from up to a half mile away._

On one level, this makes my hair stand on end.  On another level, I think would make the most awesome spy novel in the history of the crime genre.  Steig Larsson, we need you!!  Only Lisabeth Salander can save the day ...


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## MA-Caver (Aug 5, 2011)

Yeah, saw this today... got to thinking so who is going to be ***-hole enough to actually do it?


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## Flea (Aug 5, 2011)

Rest assured, someone is out there.  Especially since the article offered so many helpful tips.


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