Much of the medical equipment in use today — from patient monitors to infusion pumps — can be targets for hackers, according to Kevin Fu, a Northeastern professor of electrical and computer engineering and medical cybersecurity expert.

And the threats to human lives are very real, Fu says.

  • aviationeast
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    333 months ago

    Maybe we should NOT PUT LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT ON AN INTERNET CONNECTED NETWORK.

    Have an internal monitoring network for a nurses station sure, but why the fuck do we need a heart monitor or infusion pump online?

    • bort
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      143 months ago

      Honestly these machines and the computers that connect to them should all be in networks isolated from the main hospital networks. Allow a single secure connection for them to relay data to the wider network and allow nothing in.

      • aviationeast
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        23 months ago

        A data diode out would be OK. Still have to be controlling media in.

  • ssillyssadass
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    173 months ago

    Hasn’t this been the case since the computerization of hospitals? Haven’t there been many ransomware attacks against hospitals?

  • @CrazyLikeGollum@lemmy.world
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    73 months ago

    Sure, just remember the S in IoT stands for security and IoT devices are just embedded devices connected to the internet.

    And the Medical industry is the proof for the rule.

  • John Richard
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    23 months ago

    Backdoors for thee but not for me? I imagine what they call hackers would probably end up making the equipment software better.

  • @Empricorn@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    The company I work for has locations throughout the US and I don’t think has ever been hacked. While they are not perfect, individual devices are not exposed to the internet! I think that’s pretty basic…