Death by radio waves - hacking a pacemaker

Researchers in the US have developed a way to kill people with radio waves - but this is no secret Pentagon project.

They're computer scientists demonstrating that pacemakers and other implants can be hacked. Their latest demonstration showed that using radio signals they could shut down a pacemaker made by US firm Medtronic, or have it deliver jolts of electricity could be fatal.

Those tests involved a pacemaker in a lab, not implanted in a person and required the transmitter being two inches from the Maximo model they attacked. The team from the Washington and Massachusetts Universities pulled off the trick by exploiting a radio transmitter in the device used by doctors to monitor a patient or change the pacemaker's settings without surgery.

The researchers were keen to stress that people shouldn't be scared of pacemakers. "If I needed a defibrillator, I’d ask for one with wireless technology," one told the NYT.

They're trying to raise awareness of what they think is a valid security issue. And it's one likely to get more important.

Brain "pacemakers" that treat neurological disorders with pulses of current are becoming more common, and ideas like transferring data through a person's bones and powering implants using the body are becoming more common.

However distant those technologies are, maintaining their security is crucial. The Washington and Massachusetts teams have shared their results with the US Federal Drug Administration, who could impose security standards on future devices.

A paper on pacemaker hacking and an FAQ on its implications are available online at a site bringing together various research on medical device security. The Washington researchers involved previously demonstrated how the Nike+iPod kit for runners could be used to spy on people.

Tom Simonite, online technology reporter