SafeUM
Home Blog Services Download Help About Recharge

Axarhöfði 14, 110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015
SafeUM
Blog
Services
Download
Help
About
Recharge
Menu
Archive
TOP Security!
31 Aug 2017

Almost half a million pacemakers need a firmware update to avoid getting hacked

Nearly half a million pacemakers are being recalled by the US Food and Drug Administration after the agency found that the devices could be hacked to control pacing or deplete batteries.

Rather than having patients remove or replace the device, however, the manufacturer is releasing a firmware update designed to address the vulnerabilities. Yes, that’s right — grandpa, grandma, your baby, or anyone with arrhythmia and has a pacemaker implanted might need to get a firmware update.

The affected pacemakers are made by St. Jude Medical, which was acquired by Abbott in January. The models are radio-frequency enabled, and were manufactured before August 28th. Any device manufactured from this week on will have the update pre-installed. The FDA estimates that 465,000 vulnerable devices have been implanted in patients in the US. Hackers could use “commercially available” equipment to change the devices’ programming.

In May, researchers found that pacemaker programmers could intercept the device using equipment that cost anywhere between $15 to $3,000. Abbott will now require devices to provide authorization in order to communicate with the pacemaker.

A firmware is basically software for a hardware, and the update should be an easier fix for patients than undergoing surgery for a new, hack-proof device. Unfortunately, patients who require a firmware update can’t get it at home. Instead, they’ll have the three-minute update administered by a healthcare provider. During this time, the device will run in backup mode. It’s possible that diagnostic data or settings will be lost — or worse, that the device will be bricked — so patients should talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of updating their pacemakers.

In the alert, the FDA warned patients that any device that connects to Wi-Fi or the internet is vulnerable to hacking. But the agency also noted that connectivity has its benefits — including safer and more convenient health care. As with most things in medicine, patients will have to determine whether the risks are worth it.

This isn’t the first time Abbott’s Jude Medical unit’s pacemakers have been found to contain cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In January, the FDA issued a similar warning for the company’s implantable RF pacemakers and corresponding transmitters that could be exploited to administer inappropriate pacing or shocks.


Download SafeUM — communicate privately, without advertising and spam.

Tags:
information leaks hackers
Source:
The Verge
1421
Other NEWS
3 Jul 2020 safeum news imgage An encrypted messaging service has been infiltrated by police
4 May 2020 safeum news imgage Two-Factor Authentication ​What Is It and Why You Should Use It
12 Dec 2019 safeum news imgage Encryption is under threat - this is how it affects you
4 Nov 2019 safeum news imgage Should Big Decisions Be Based on Data or Your Intuition?
7 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage VPNFilter malware infecting 500,000 devices is worse than we thought
4 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Hackers target Booking.com in criminal bid to steal hundreds of thousands from customers
1 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Operator of World's Top Internet Hub Sues German Spy Agency
30 May 2018 safeum news imgage US says North Korea behind malware attacks
29 May 2018 safeum news imgage Facebook and Google targeted as first GDPR complaints filed
25 May 2018 safeum news imgage A new reason to not buy these cheap Android devices
24 May 2018 safeum news imgage Flaws in smart pet devices, apps could come back to bite owners
23 May 2018 safeum news imgage Google sued for 'clandestine tracking' of 4.4m UK iPhone users' browsing data
21 May 2018 safeum news imgage LocationSmart reportedly leaked phone location data onto the web
18 May 2018 safeum news imgage The SEC created its own scammy ICO to teach investors a lesson
17 May 2018 safeum news imgage Thieves suck millions out of Mexican banks in transfer heist
All news
SafeUM
Confidential Terms of Use Our technologies Company
Follow us
Download
SafeUM © Safe Universal Messenger

Axarhöfði 14,
110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015