It Is Shocking! Even Heart Devices Can Be Hacked

Another alarming news in the wake of the recent cyber attack that even heart devices can be hacked, is making more concerns about cyber security. In a legal brief, Investment research firm Muddy Waters said that St. Jude Medical Inc's cardiac implants can potentially be hacked by an expert. The firm also confirmed that it validated with the help of an outside cyber security firm and can reiterate the life-threatening vulnerability.

Cyber security firm MedSec revealed its findings to U.S. district court of Minnesota for Muddy Waters, as they were hired by the investment research firm to defend their initial findings in the court, reports The Huffington Post. The cyber security firm tested the heart devices with the help of specialists in computer hardware hacking, cryptography, and wireless communications, and found the devices susceptible to cyber attacks.

St. Jude, a major manufacturer of medical devices, has strongly opposed the claims. But, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated an investigation to find the vulnerability to cyber attacks, cited by Reuters. Justine Bone, CEO of MedSec confirmed that they tested with three different types of devices and found cyber security weakness in radio frequency protocol that uses to connect the devices. The implants can be vibrated, turned off or generated shock by the hacker.

Ms. Bone said that those devices were designed without strong security in mind and should be redesigned with better cyber security. Technology blogger Stilgherrian said that the security measures used in medical devices were been a concern for long. "It includes heart implants and insulin pumps," he said. "These devices are designed without significant cyber security measures and they can be accessed remotely by its design," reported by ABC.

"Most of the heart devices can be monitored and controlled via Wi-Fi, making it convenient, but if someone hacks the network, then it could be life threatening,' he added. The webcam maker Hangzhou Xiongmai said in the wake of the recent cyber attack that the cyber security issues were "a major problem faced by all humankind", shows the depth of the crisis.