It is embarrassingly easy to hack medical devices, experts warn, creating a new security threat that could have life-or-death consequences. Among the many devices vulnerable to hackers are drug infusion pumps, which could be jimmied to deliver a lethal dose, anesthesia machines and Pacemakers.
Many medical devices are produced by legacy companies that are new to designing software. Others are made by startups that have to bootstrap costs. The end result is that most medical devices are designed with open-source code that is easily hacked with malware.
