Hacking of medical devices
Abstract: The number of vectors to attack systems targets are ever increasing. Now we have implantable devices that help to provide diagnostics, drug delivery, and monitoring patient conditions. Some of these are not yet connected wirelessly, but increasingly more and more medical devices stream data back to the manufacturer. Since about 2007, when the biomedical industry began to gain traction in the United States, hackers have identified vulnerabilities. In 2010-2017 a great number of ethical hackers have tried to raise awareness about the issues posed to heart pacemakers, defibrillators, insulin pumps, and deep brain stimulation devices. At first they wrote about their findings to the manufacturer, then FDA and dependent on the issue, even invited the FCC. But manufacturers identified these as “low vulnerabilities”, instead of addressing them straight away. Since 2018, more and more biomedical device manufacturers have taken security vulnerabilities more seriously despite that no deaths have been reported .
Theme 5: Biological information security
1 p.m. Cybersecurity, digital threats and bio-inspired solutions | Stephanie Forrest, ASU
1:20 Data breeches and implications for biosecurity | Jamie Winterton, ASU
1:40 Enhancing biosecurity in defense applications | Panel from Battelle
2:30 Panel discussion | Stephanie Forrest, Jamie Winterton and Panel from Battelle
2:40 Break
2:50 Controlled unclassified information in biological research | Vel Murugan, ASU
3:10 Hacking of medical devices | Katina Michael, ASU
3:30 Biopiracy and the global use of biological data | Diana Bowman, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
3:50 Panel discussion | Vel Murugan, Katina Michael and Diana Bowman
4 Closing remarks day two | Irene Mendoza, ASU and Phillip Bates, ASU
ASU and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are hosting the 4th Arizona Biosecurity Workshop on December 5-6, 2019 at ASU. We would like to invite you to give a talk on hacking of medical devices. You would give a 20-minute presentation on this subject and then participate in a short panel afterwards.
This year, we are anticipating over 200 attendees from different industries, including academic, research, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, regulatory agency, safety and security professions. The 4th Arizona Biosecurity Workshop will focus on four main themes, including 1) Emergence of synthetic viruses; 2) Global impact of Do-It-Yourself Biology ; 3) Ethical quandaries in biotechnology and 4) Biological information security. Our goal is to foster community engagement in the global conversation about these important topics. We hope to enhance biosecurity by educating our communities, research and safety personnel, policy makers, regulators and others tasked with overseeing this important field.
Special Agents from the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and the FBI Phoenix Weapons of Mass Destruction unit will assist in leading the workshop and are also presenting on topics regarding biosecurity. In addition, we have recruited subject matter experts in the biosecurity field to discuss relevant topics to assist in developing best practices. We are hoping to make this workshop a valuable educational experience for a broad range of participants, from researchers to law enforcement to safety professionals to DIY practitioners. We believe having you as a speaker will help us reach this goal.
Citation: Katina Michael and Josh Massad, December 6, 2019, “Hacking of Medical Devices”, 4th Arizona Biosecurity Workshop.