Increased risk of hacking of implantable medical devices? A recent study of implantable medical device sensors showed that implantable cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers are very vulnerable to tampering. In human body simulation experiments, the researchers found that they could use radio frequency electromagnetic waves to fake an unstable heartbeat. In theory, they created a false signal that can be used to suppress necessary pacing or cause unnecessary cardiac defibrillation.
This research was conducted by the University of Michigan, University of South Carolina, Korea Advanced InsTItute of Science and Technology, University of Minnesota, Massachusetts Massachusetts and Harvard Medical School work together. But the researchers emphasize that there have been no cases of hacker destruction so far, and it is quite difficult to do so in the real world.
Figure: Radio frequency electromagnetic waves can be used to fake an unstable heartbeat
Implantable defibrillators are mainly used to monitor whether the heart beats are regular and normal, and also discharge to make the heart beat normal when necessary. Pacemakers use electrical pulses to maintain the beat of the heart. This is not the first time that security vulnerabilities in implantable medical devices have been discovered, but this study reveals new security risks for common analog sensors that rely heavily on specific activities from the human body or surrounding environment as input. Denis Foo Kune, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Massachusetts, said they found that these analog devices trust the information received from the sensors.
Although these medical systems and even consumer electronics products have security mechanisms, the information received by analog sensors will bypass their security layer. The device will directly convert the input from the sensor into digital information, allowing them to make quick decisions. Next, researchers also discovered ways to tamper with consumer electronics. They use a specific radio signal to pair the microphone on the mobile phone with a Bluetooth headset. Foo Kune said that such technology may be used in fraudulent transfers and other purposes; in another experiment, they canceled one end of an Internet call. The sound signal is replaced with a song.
However, Yongdae Kim, a professor of electrical engineering at the Korea Academy of Science and Technology, pointed out that these types of interference can be prevented by the shielding and filtering technology used today in military-grade equipment. He further stated that more and more safety-critical systems, such as smart grids and automated transportation, rely more and more on sensing technology, but malicious input signals and modified antennas and power supplies can cause serious safety problems.
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