Biological Warfare: Tampering with Implantable Medical Devices

IMDs have been around since 1958. They include pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, and neurostimulators. In the US, they're regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, over the years, there has been a lack of focus on issues surrounding possible cyberattacks that tamper with IMDs. We certainly have made advances in IMDs over the past six decades, especially in the areas of biocompabitility, structural design of devices and delivery systems, power management, and detection or wireless communication issues. We still need, however, to take a closer look at security issues relating to IMDs in the near future.