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Hackers can attack patients with pacemakers
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Hackers are professional software "crackers" who can cause irreparable damage to laptops, tablets and other technical devices. However, not everyone knows that other equipment related to medicine, health and life of patients can also be subject to hacker attacks. For example, theoretically, even an electric pacemaker can be "hacked", which will inevitably lead to the patient's death. Fortunately, such cases have not yet been recorded, but experts consider it their duty to find possible ways to protect against mortal danger.
Implanted medical devices are mostly connected to each other via Bluetooth. This network has a radius of up to 10 meters, and theoretically the signal can be intercepted by any interested person who is in the specified range. For example, a criminal can make changes to the operation of a cardiac pacemaker and kill the patient.
"Nowadays, medicine increasingly connects various devices to the human body. Trivially, these are smart watches or fitness trackers, virtual reality glasses, etc. Our task is to maintain the security of the connection, as well as to speed up the throughput properties and reduce energy consumption," explains Shreya Sen, a professional electrical engineer.
Engineering experts from Purdue University have come up with a new technology that narrows the range of a Bluetooth signal to five millimeters. The new device uses the conductive capabilities of the human body to create a kind of closed network that no foreign equipment can penetrate. The device is not only designed to counteract hacking, but also has excellent energy-saving properties.
Today, the device looks like a massive wristwatch. However, in the near future, specialists want to minimize its size to a small chip that can be built into any medical equipment. The new product will help patients with pacemakers feel absolutely safe. There is also considerable benefit for medical workers, because with the help of the device it will be possible to adjust the settings of implanted electronics without additional surgical intervention. It will be enough to just pick up the remote control and make the necessary changes.
Recall that just recently the US National Security Service issued a warning that implanted pacemakers from Medtronic are vulnerable and can be hacked or remotely reprogrammed by hackers. However, the company assured that the situation is under control and there is no reason to panic.
The information was published on the Daily Mail page (www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6840637/DHS-warns-hackers-defibrillators-theyve-implanted-rewrite-commands.html).