Hacking Medical Devices

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Barnaby Jack uses a mannequin equipped with an insulin pump to show the vulnerabilities of wireless medical devices.
Many people (until recently that included this writer) are not aware that medical devices like insulin pumps and pacemakers can be "hacked," that is remotely controlled by someone that should not have access to control the device. Such activity was made famous by Barnaby Jack, a New Zealand man who demonstrated to an audience that he could wirelessly hack an insulin pump from 300 feet away.  He was able to make the insulin pump deliver a lethal dose to a mannequin. He also demonstrated the ability to hack a pacemaker. Barnaby was set to remotely "shock" a pacemaker at a conference in Las Vegas. He passed away in San Francisco last month before he made that presentation. His death is still under investigation.Barnaby Jack was a "good guy" using his hacker skills to expose risks in these critical medical devices. His work raises serious concerns about the ability to wirelessly control medical implants by "bad guys." Clearly medical device makers need to address these flaws in implants for the safety of patients who need them.Barnaby's work got me thinking about transhumanism. In the case of pacemakers and insulin pumps, these devices are needed for medical reasons. But transhumanists want such devices for their otherwise healthy bodies. Neural implants, nanobots, cyber-brains...

Source: Mary Meets Dolly - August 5, 2013 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Transhumanism Source Type: blogs