Mixed Bits

Implanted medical devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated, moving from simple pacemakers to computerized devices that can actively respond to changes in a patient’s condition. One example is implanted defibrillators that monitor the heart’s electrical activity and, when an arrhythmic event is detected, can induce a shock that resets the heart. They also contain small radio transmitters that let doctors read their monitoring of the heart and even reprogram the device to customize it to the patient. Unfortunately, researchers have found that it’s incredibly easy to reverse-engineer the communication protocol of these radio transmissions and use that information to hack the implant.