Volume 6 - Issue 3
Implantable Medical Devices; Networking Security Survey
- Siamak Aram
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Howard University, Washington DC, US, Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Italy
siamak.aram@howard.edu
- Rouzbeh A. Shirvani
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Howard University, Washington DC, US
rouzbeh.asgharishir@bison.howard.edu
- Eros G. Pasero
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Italy
eros.pasero@polito.it
- Mohamd F. Chouikha
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Howard University, Washington DC, US
mchouikha@howard.edu
Keywords: implantable medical devices, security, wireless sensor network.
Abstract
The industry of implantable medical devices (IMDs) is constantly evolving, which is dictated by the
pressing need to comprehensively address new challenges in the healthcare field. Accordingly, IMDs
are becoming more and more sophisticated. Not long ago, the range of IMDs’ technical capacities
was expanded, making it possible to establish Internet connection in case of necessity and/or emergency
situation for the patient. At the same time, while the web connectivity of today’s implantable
devices is rather advanced, the issue of equipping the IMDs with sufficiently strong security system
remains unresolved. In fact, IMDs have relatively weak security mechanisms which render
them vulnerable to cyber-attacks that compromise the quality of IMDs’ functionalities. This study
revolves around the security deficiencies inherent to three types of sensor-based medical devices;
biosensors, insulin pump systems and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Manufacturers of these
devices should take into consideration that security and effectiveness of the functionality of implants
is highly dependent on the design. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of IMDs’ architecture
and specifically investigate their vulnerabilities at networking interface.