A US researcher is calling for legislation to enforce tighter security on implanted cardiac devices after he hacked one wirelessly to produce a potentially fatal electric shock.
The scenario may sound like something out of a detective novel or far-fetched thriller movie script but the danger is real and should be taken seriously, says Kevin Fu, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts, who specialises in the security of RFID systems.
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Doctors can access modern pacemakers and defibrillators over the Internet via a short-range wireless link similar to those used in RFID devices. The system allows them to monitor patients remotely and install software updates.This means a hacker could access confidential medical information as well as reprogram the devices, Fu says.
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The hacking device could be built into something the size of a cellphone and infect IMDs with malware randomly as the killer walked down the street.
