I have often thought that the hacking of medical devices may be something that we see soon. The author is right that it is unlikely to occur, but not impossible. If we look at the global news with Russian agents using Novichok here in the UK & the murder of the half brother of Kim Jong-Un in Malaysia, we can see that assassination has not gone out of favour.
It would make perfect sense for a rogue state to turn to medical devices as the next method of termination. After all, it negates the need for weapons or hard to handle poisons. Potentially as well it allows the rogue state to offer a plausible cause of natural death to onlookers.
One also assumes that if these devices could be hacked then the theoretical possibility of exhortation exists as well. I could easily see unscrupulous organised crime enterprises altering someone's pacemaker & demanding huge amounts of money in order to hand back control.
I'm sure soon enough we shall see an example of this on the global stage. It remains a case of when not if.
Rapid Response:
Re: Could implanted medical devices be hacked?
Dear Editor
I have often thought that the hacking of medical devices may be something that we see soon. The author is right that it is unlikely to occur, but not impossible. If we look at the global news with Russian agents using Novichok here in the UK & the murder of the half brother of Kim Jong-Un in Malaysia, we can see that assassination has not gone out of favour.
It would make perfect sense for a rogue state to turn to medical devices as the next method of termination. After all, it negates the need for weapons or hard to handle poisons. Potentially as well it allows the rogue state to offer a plausible cause of natural death to onlookers.
One also assumes that if these devices could be hacked then the theoretical possibility of exhortation exists as well. I could easily see unscrupulous organised crime enterprises altering someone's pacemaker & demanding huge amounts of money in order to hand back control.
I'm sure soon enough we shall see an example of this on the global stage. It remains a case of when not if.
Competing interests: No competing interests