http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/16/pacemaker_security_tattoo/ By Dan Goodin in San Francisco The Register 16th April 2010 A Microsoft researcher has suggested tattooing passwords on patients with pacemakers and other implanted medical devices to ensure the remotely-controlled gadgets can be accessed during emergencies. The proposal, by Stuart Schechter of Microsoft Research, is the latest to grapple with the security of implanted medical devices equipped with radio transmitters they can be controlled without the need for surgery. Besides pacemakers, other types of potentially vulnerable devices include insulin pumps and cardiac defibrillators. In 2008, researchers demonstrated that heart monitors were susceptible to wireless hacks that caused pacemakers to shut off or leak personal information. But equally devastating are scenarios in which physicians are unable to provide emergency care because they don't have the access codes needed to control the devices. In a paper published last week, Schechter proposed that access to such devices be controlled with encryption similar to what's used on wi-fi networks. Access keys would then be tattooed on patients using ink that's invisible under most conditions. [...] ___________________________________________________________ Register now for HITBSecConf2010 - Dubai, the premier deep-knowledge network security event in the GCC, featuring keynote speakers John Viega and Matt Watchinski! http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2010dxb/Received on Sun Apr 18 2010 - 22:48:31 PDT
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