An implantable medical device can save your life. In theory, it could also be hacked to obtain confidential information about your medical condition, to disrupt its normal operation, and even to harm you.

Most implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, drug pumps, and neural stimulators are equipped with wireless communications. Some use magnetic induction requiring an external antenna be placed directly on the skin opposite the implanted device. Others use the medical implant communication services (MICS) radio band enabling communications up to several feet away.

Radio has advantages over magnetic induction. For example, receivers can be distributed throughout the home to monitor the patient and call for help in a medical emergency. However, radio is also more vulnerable to malicious attacks.

All implantable medical devices have security issues. Patients with electronic implants could suffer serious or even fatal injuries from an MRI machine. Devices that communicate via magnetic induction are vulnerable to interference from powerful magnets such as those found in some loudspeakers. Though there have been no reported cases in which hackers accessed an implantable medical device and turned it against its owner, it is theoretically possible. One thing we know for certain about hackers is that many cannot resist a challenge.

Researchers have begun looking at ways to protect implantable medical devices equipped with radio communications from malicious attacks. Investigators at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) have developed an external device (to be worn by the patient) that jams transmissions from unauthorized users. It’s a clever solution that adds authentication and encryption to existing medical implants. But it only works if the patient remembers to wear it and replace the batteries when needed.

Patients will benefit from implantable medical devices with more robust communications capabilities such as increased range and transmission speed. But such devices will require much better security. While an external shield can add security to existing implants, it’s far from the ideal solution. There is no perfect security system; the best security often employs a combination of techniques to create multiple barriers. Manufacturers must start by adding better security to the devices. Then an external security system becomes a second layer of defense for those most at risk.

A dramatic example of how modern technology can improve someone's quality of life:

After Dick Cheney had a partially artificial heart installed last summer, the former vice president literally no longer has a pulse. But the healthier, active Cheney told Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace that he doesn't have many complaints these days.

"I've been blessed with the wonders of modern medical technology," Cheney, who suffered from heart failure in July, said during a rare one-on-one interview. "And I'm getting ready to go fishing at the end of this month, and working on a book, and spending a lot of time with family. So I haven't got many complaints."

Cheney "no longer has a pulse" because this type of LVAD (left ventricular assist device) propels blood continuously. The device was apparently implanted in July of 2010. Though LVADs have been promoted as a way to buy time for patients in need of heart transplants, new models may be a longer term solution for some patients.

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