System Configuration Contributions to Vulnerability: Applications to Connected Personal Devices

There is a strong impetus to commercialize emerging technology, tempered by safety expectations and regulatory compliance requirements [1]. Such is the case for medical implant devices, where successful operation of devices can be life-saving, but while consequences of failure are severe. Recent advances in this technology aimed at enabling remote access to a device facilitate remote and more accurate monitoring of patient health. In doing so, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) both satisfy market pressures and potentially introduce new avenues of risk that increase end-user vulnerability [2]. Vulnerability contributed by technological systems is known to researchers [3]-[5] as an important consideration in individual vulnerability. This study aims to quantify the contribution of technological configuration to end-user vulnerability, specifically the additional risk of Internet-enabled medical implant devices.