Hacking Medical Devices

From the Daily Mail:

Barnaby Jack, an analyst at security firm McAfee, has revealed how he was able to hijack a well-known make of insulin pump within two weeks by hacking its radio signals using a small antenna. He was also able to disable security alerts that warn the user something is awry…

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts have been working on improving the security of cardiac devices, since they discovered in 2008 that a defibrillator could be reset by a hacker to deliver a shock that might prove fatal…

In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) said they had yet to receive any reports of medical implant hacks.

Areas to think about:

• Is this a realistic threat to be concerned about?
• Who might be genuinely vulnerable to such an attack?