http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/10/feds-examining-medical-devices-for-fatal-cybersecurity-flaws/
By David Kravets
Ars Technica
Oct 23 2014
It was an eerie tale. Former US Vice President Dick Cheney announced last
year that he disabled the wireless function of the implanted heart
defibrillator amid fears it could be exploited by terrorists wanting to
kill him.
Cheney's announcement put a face to the fear of possible medical-device
hacking exploits, and researchers and the federal government were slowly
realizing there were genuine vulnerabilities associated with these
implanted devices. They are equipped with computerized functions and
wireless capabilities that allow the devices to be administered without
requiring additional surgery, and therefore they could be vulnerable to
hacker exploit.
Cheney's move may have seemed far-fetched, but his paranoia is being
confirmed, as the Department of Homeland Security is now probing potential
cybersecurity flaws in certain medical devices.
"The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Industrial Control
Systems-Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) works directly with the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and medical devices manufacturers,
health care professionals, and facilities to investigate and address cyber
vulnerabilities. DHS actively collaborates with public and private sector
partners every day to identify and reduce adverse impacts on the nation’s
critical cyber systems," DHS spokesman S.Y. Lee wrote Thursday to Ars.
[...]
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