One More Worry: Hackers and Pacemakers

"Researchers: Life-Saving Heart Devices Can Be Hacked"
FOXNews (March 12, 2008)

A hundred thousand people in America alone have new pacemakers.

• Good news:
  The new pacemakers transmit data to bedside monitors, cutting down on the number of checkups needed
• Bad news:
  The data is unencrypted, and contains personal information, like birth date, medical ID number and, sometimes, Social Security number
• Worse news:
  The system can be hacked. Then,
  • The right signal might be blocked
  • A wrong signal sent to the pacemaker
    • Either way, it's bad for the patient

Pacemakers with transceivers: A good idea. Add some security, and they'll be even better.