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Yes, a number of the experts are concerned, especially in the infrastructure protection realm. Its a combination of cyber terrorism and software vulnerabilites. Alot of people simply don't think about the critical infrastructure and what are called the interdependencies
PS: I think that the earlier comment was spam if you follow the link to the homepage.
Alot of people do not put valid URL's in the homepage spot, as long as they are not advertising, no skin off my ass.
Well, OK. I've no redemption, right?
Interdependencies is an interesting area to study.
Agreed. The more we rely on this system, the easier it will be to nail us hard with some thing successful.
As I said, when experts talk not in terms of National Security but in terms of civilization, it is very disturbing to say the least.
Cyber attacks are out of control. Everything is vulnerable. Computers have germinated almost every aspect of our lives. It is difficult to do anything now days without a computer being involved. Hacking of computers and networks has grown to epidemic proportions and continues to spread virtually unchecked. Computers are no stranger to the healthcare profession. Computerized imaging, blood analysis and heart monitoring have been around for years. That being said, threat of compromised or contaminated hardware and software has taking on an increased sense of urgency
lately.
Medical devices such as pace-makers, defibrillators and other medical devices communicate over short distances via radio waves. This is required for changing setting and other critical functions as they permit doctors and other healthcare providers to monitor and even tweak the settings as needed without the need for surgery. While beneficial, this communication can be exploited for more sinister activities.
On March 12 2008 the Wall Street Journal reported that a doctor had teamed up with a computer scientist to hack into an ICD (implantable cardio defibrillator) that was introduced into the U.S. market back in 2003. The hacking team reversed engineered
the communication protocol used to remotely access the device they reconnected to the ICD and attacked it in such a way that could compromise patient safety. This is quite concerning given Pacing and ICDs are increasingly being used in the management of arrhythmias and a number of different cardiac conditions.
A most likely attack scenario in one cyber security expert’s opinion is a portable
computer with radio frequency communications capability armed with malicious
code that would reprogram an implanted pacemaker being used in highly populated
areas or events. Reprogramming must take place very close to the device so
this would not be a massive attack weapon, but possibly a cyber assassination
tool.
This is yet another warning sign how exposed we are to cyber attacks. Manufacturers should take security precautions to prevent malicious code being inserted during production of all computer controlled equipment. While we are not aware of any actual events of medical device tampering or hacking, there are other devices that recently were found to have been contaminated with malicious code at the point of manufacture and shipped to businesses and consumers. It should also be noted that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the oversight on medical devices and has stringent approval requirements that must be met as well as ongoing monitoring and reporting of any issues or problems encountered.
I have been reading all I can about cyber attacks and warfare. The former Chief Strategist of Netscape - Kevin Coleman - has warned that we are at great risk in business, government and industry. Why is it we never listen to the experts before it is too late?
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