Reliable Embedded Systems

A team of researchers has proven that with enough time, energy, and expertise a pacemaker can be hacked, though there is currently little to no risk for patients with pacemakers.

Harvard cardiologist Dr. William Maisel, who specializes in heart rhythms and was on the team, says hacking is not an important risk for patients right now, but that they just want the industry to be thinking about where society is going with such devices. Maisel worked with computer experts from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the University of Washington to demonstrate that an implantable defibrillator could be accessed and altered remotely, possibly resulting in either a dangerous shock or the withholding of a potentially lifesaving one. The timing of the research is fitting, with a greater variety of implantable electronic gear being developed, particularly as the gear becomes more versatile and easier to operate from a distance. Pacemakers can send signals to bedside monitors to provide data for doctors, and some devices can be detected and reprogrammed quickly in an emergency room to help save a patient's life. UC Davis Medical School professor Larry Wolff, who specializes in implanting defibrillators, says he believes in time it will be possible to make programming changes to implanted medical devices over the telephone. Researchers at the Medical Device Security Center tested a pacemaker in a lab, using $30,000 worth of commercially available equipment to assist with the hack, altering the device from less than an inch away.

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