More than 400,000 people update their pacemaker at the risk of hacking

The headline may sound strange, but it is what has happened in the United States. 456, 000 people using a pacemaker have had to update the pacemaker's firmware at the risk of it being hacked. As you all know, a pacemaker is a small device that is implanted in the upper part of the heart to correct the heart rhythm.

More than 400, 000 people update their pacemaker at the risk of hacking

All pacemakers that were forced to upgrade belong to Abbot Laboratories. The devices have a radio frequency program that allows maintenance to be carried out remotely. But the firm's pacemakers had a critical flaw that allowed hackers to take control of them.

Defective pacemakers

If an attack were to be perpetrated, a hacker could access and issue orders to the device. And these unauthorized commands could modify, among others, the device settings or affect its functionality. So the risk to the person wearing the device is remarkably high. People who had to update the firmware had to go to a clinic.

There, doctors put the device into backup mode while the security vulnerability is fixed. The process appears to have proceeded normally and is successful. At least according to statements by spokesmen for Abbot Laboratories.

At the moment it is unknown if they are affected in other countries besides the United States. Pacemaker firmware failures were unveiled last year. And back then, the firm stated that the allegations about the security breach were false and misleading.