Abusing the Internet of Things

(Rick Simeone) #1

FIGURE 8-3. Nest support website detailing the Heartbleed security issue


Diluting the Medical Record


Vulnerabilities that exploit life-sustaining, hospital-grade devices have been proven.
Researcher Jerome Radcliffe has detailed how he was able to use radio communication to
remotely instruct an insulin pump to change the dosage being administered. Such an attack
could be abused by a malicious entity within wireless range to kill a patient.
Consumer devices such as Fitbit activity trackers are also gaining attention from the med-
ical community. Doctors find such devices useful to obtain granular information about
patients, such as their blood pressure, the amount of daily exercise they get, and other vitals
that can influence prescribed dosages and treatments. There is consensus in the medical and
technological communities that data from personal activity trackers should be incorporated
into patients’ medical records, giving doctors greater visibility into the health of their patients
by providing information in addition to what they are able to measure in medical facilities.
Figure 8-4 shows a screenshot of heart rate data collected by the Apple Watch using the iOS


DILUTING THE MEDICAL RECORD 241
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