Pacemaker hack can deliver deadly 830-volt jolt

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.cio.com.au/article/439322/pacemaker_hack_can_deliver_deadly_830-volt_jolt/

By Jeremy Kirk
IDG News Service
17 October, 2012

Pacemakers from several manufacturers can be commanded to deliver a 
deadly, 830-volt shock from someone on a laptop up to 50 feet away, the 
result of poor software programming by medical device companies.

The new research comes from Barnaby Jack of security vendor IOActive, 
known for his analysis of other medical equipment such as 
insulin-delivering devices.

Jack, who spoke at the Breakpoint security conference in Melbourne on 
Wednesday, said the flaw lies with the programming of the wireless 
transmitters used to give instructions to pacemakers and implantable 
cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), which detect irregular heart 
contractions and deliver an electric shock to avert a heart attack.

A successful attack using the flaw "could definitely result in 
fatalities," said Jack, who has notified the manufacturers of the 
problem but did not publicly identify the companies.

[...]


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