Patients’ insulin pumps are revealed to be hackable by J&J
pharmafile | October 4, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | FDA, Hackers, Johnson & Johnson, diabetes, insulin
Johnson & Johnson have begun warning patients that their insulin pumps, that patients attach to their bodies and are controlled by wireless remote control, could potentially be hacked by enterprising hackers. It leaves open the possibility that the devices could be exploited to intentionally overdose diabetics with insulin.
The company has been keen to stress that the likelihood of this event happening is unlikely, they reassured in letters sent to patients. The letters stated that “The probability of unauthorized access to the OneTouch Ping system is extremely low…It would require technical expertise, sophisticated equipment and proximity to the pump, as the OneTouch Ping system is not connected to the internet or to any external network.”
The particular insulin pump in question is the Animas OneTouch Ping, which was launched in 2008. The system is vulnerable because communications between the wireless remote and the insulin pump are not encrypted or scrambled, safety features that typically prevent hackers from being able to interfere with such devices.
In accordance with their own independent findings, that suggested the device was vulnerable, Johnson & Johnson have released safety advice to manually limit the amount of insulin that is possible to be released by the device and to discontinue use of the remote control.
Suzanne Schwartz, an FDA official responsible for reviewing bugs in medical devices, said in a statement that she encourages collaboration between researchers and device manufacturers to identify, remediate and alert the public to vulnerabilities.
“It enables all stakeholders to better address device safety with the interest of patient health in mind,” she said.
The FDA released a statement claiming that it knows of no known cases where hackers have managed exploit vulnerabilities in such devices to harm patients.
Ben Hargreaves
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