Heart defibrillator implants can be hacked-experts

• by admin
• 2008-03-12 12:03:39
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By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Implanted heart
defibrillators, which automatically shock a fluttering heart
back into a normal rhythm, can be hacked from the outside, U.S.
researchers reported on Wednesday.

There is no immediate danger to patients, the team of computer experts, electrical engineers and cardiologists
said.

But they made one Medtronic Inc device give up
patient information off its computer chip, got it to fire
improperly, and ran its battery down, all using inexpensive
equipment.

They offered a way to fix these weaknesses and said they
were publishing their findings not to frighten patients but to
inform the industry and regulators.

"I think patients with implantable defibrillators should
not be worried by this," Dr. William Maisel of the Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School said in a
telephone interview.

"I think we would be doing them a disservice if this upsets
them. There has never been a documented malicious attack on
someone's implantable cardiac defibrillator."

Maisel said his team had contacted the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration because it could be an industry-wide problem.

Medtronic's Rob Clark said the company's devices had
carried such telemetry for 30 years with no reported problems.

"This is a very low-risk event for patients that have these
devices," Clark said in a telephone interview.

"The primary focus for us is on the safety and efficacy of
the device. A close second on that is security and privacy."

He said the company was aware of the risks and would take
them into account when designing products. "The technology in
these devices constantly evolves and improves, and we will
continue to incorporate measures to protect security and
patient information for these devices," Clark said.