Ransomware will target also Medical Devices

  • 23 November 2015
  • 4 replies
  • 517 views

Userlevel 7
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November 23, 2015  By Pierluigi Paganini
 
                                          http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/medical-device-ransomware-hacking-2-726x400.jpg
 

“Want to keep using the pacemaker? “” pay us 2 bitcoins” Experts fear that ransomware will start targeting medical devices.

 
Technology has a huge role in our lives, we depend on it even more, including our smartwatch and also our medical device.
 
Unfortunately, we usually forgot that even our medical devices, the ones they help to save lives, are also technological devices that could be affected by many security issues like a normal PC … and hackers can exploit these vulnerabilities!
 
A report issued by Forrester released some days ago, predict that for 2016 we will start seeing ransomware take advantage of medical devices.
 
Now imagine that a patient having a pacemaker suddenly receives a message on his phone saying “Want to keep using the pacemaker? “, ” pay us 2 bitcoins”, it may look bizarre, but its probably things that may happen in a near future.
 
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4 replies

Userlevel 7
That is scary!!!! Ransoming your pacemaker.................What about those individuals that have a heart transplant and it has a pump inside your chest operated by a battery of such.
Userlevel 6
How do they notify someone of the infection? Morse code in the chest?

That was a bad joke, and in all seriousness, this kind of malware scares me. I hide behind humor when scared.
Userlevel 7
Badge +54
@ wrote:
How do they notify someone of the infection? Morse code in the chest?

That was a bad joke, and in all seriousness, this kind of malware scares me. I hide behind humor when scared.
This Richard is actually the stuff of nightmares and I do n ot care how it is done but the devices have to be locked down somehow and anyone caught trying to install the malware needs shooting so that the message is put across. There is a line that nobody should cross and medical devices is it.
Userlevel 7
Badge +6
? totally agree with your last statement. You can mess up someone's computer as much as you want ( not really but for sake of my thought just read on ) but one does not go personal and affect one's health. Do so and earn the right to get shot.

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