New Jamming Tech Could Protect Pacemakers from Hack Attack

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2011/09/08/new-jamming-tech-could-protect-pacemakers-from-hack-attack/

By David DiSalvo
Pharma & Healthcare
Forbes.com
9/08/2011

If you have a pacemaker or an insulin pump, you may not be aware that 
you’re potentially a walking target for hackers.

Many medical implants contain tiny wireless radios that allow doctors to 
download data to track their patients’ conditions and adjust the 
functionality of the implant.  If left unprotected, these same wireless 
transmitters can be tapped by hackers to collect personal data, or even 
reprogram the implant. This problem is less of a concern for next 
generation implants, which are being designed with the hacker threat in 
mind. But for millions of people with older devices, the only solution 
is to surgically remove and replace the implant.

Researchers from MIT and the University of Massachusetts think they may 
have an easier solution, presented recently at the annual SIGCOMM 
Communications Conference in Toronto (as reported in the MIT Technology 
Review).  They presented a laptop-sized device called “the shield” that 
emits a jamming signal to thwart hacker intrusions. The real innovation, 
however, isn’t the jamming signal, but the device’s ability to 
simultaneously jam while receiving and sending data over a secure link, 
allowing a doctor to still get the data while keeping intruders out. 
In tests, the device was able to block unauthorized signals up to 100 
times stronger than the shield’s jamming signal, and also alert the 
intended target that someone is trying to tap their implant.

The prototype shield presented at the conference is too large to be 
useful (it would have to be carried around in a backpack), but the 
technology can eventually be miniaturized to the size of a bracelet. 
Medical device manufacturers are already showing interest in the device, 
but there is one big obstacle to bringing it to market: the U.S. 
government.

[...]

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