How Much Security Do You Expect From Your Pacemaker?; University of Massachusetts Amherst (10/03/08)
as it appeared in the October 10, 2008 edition of ACM TechNews.
University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Kevin E. Fu is developing zero-power technology and low-power cryptographic protocols for implantable medical devices. Fu, who earlier this year showed that an implantable heart defibrillator is vulnerable to hacking, won a three-year, $449,000 National Science Foundation grant to improve the security in implanted cardiac devices without compromising their safety and effectiveness. Fu will research sharing data over the Internet and the use of wirelessly programmable implants. He says the research comes at a critical time because few, if any, implanted devices share patient data outside secure settings such as clinics, and none are re-programmable from remote locations. However, Fu says future devices could allow a patient with an implanted cardiac device to go on vacation while the device continues to deliver information to the patient's physician over the Internet, enabling the doctor to modify the electrical output as needed, similar to adjusting prescriptions. Maintaining privacy and security will be crucial. "With medical devices, we don't have the luxury to fix security after the fact," Fu says. "This is where our research comes in." Click Here to View Full Article
