FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is shown in Silver Spring, Maryland, November 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said cybersecurity vulnerabilities were identified in Medtronic Plc’s implantable cardiac devices, clinic programmers, and home monitors. But, the FDA recommended the usage of the devices and said the medical device maker was developing updates to further mitigate those vulnerabilities. The health regulator added it was not aware of any reports of patients being harmed.
Last year, Medtronic disabled internet updates for some 34,000 CareLink programming devices that healthcare providers around the world use to access implanted pacemakers, saying the system was vulnerable to cyberattacks. Medical device makers have bolstered efforts to mitigate product security vulnerabilities in recent years following a flurry of warnings from security researchers who have identified bugs in devices like the Medtronic implant programmers.Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese
So what do I do, business as usual until someone decides to turn my pacer off?
Asher_Wolf I was told this in 2015 by a developer who worked on the software- so had my Medtronic baclofen pump subsequently removed for that (plus other reasons)in 2016. Knowing strangers could access the Bluetooth and screw with the pump’s settings scared TF out of me.
This is more troublesome than the Internet of things for such devices support life. Or not. Is it even possible to create net connected medical devices without potential vulnerabilities?
Maybe stop putting things on the internet. Just an idea.
How do patients know if their devices were at risk of these vulnerabilities? Is there a list available to review?