Design challenges for secure implantable medical devices

• Published in: DAC Design Automation Conference 2012 pp. 12 - 17
• Main Authors: Burleson, Wayne, Clark, Shane S., Ransford, Benjamin, Fu, Kevin
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY, USA ACM 03.06.2012; IEEE
• Series: ACM Conferences
• Subjects: Applied computing > Life and medical sciences > Health care information systems; Biosensors; Computer systems organization > Embedded and cyber-physical systems; Computer systems organization > Real-time systems; Encryption; IMD Security; Implantable Medical Devices; Insulin; Privacy; Wireless communication; IMD security; implantable medical devices
• ISBN: 1450311997; 9781450311991
• ISSN: 0738-100X
• DOI: 10.1145/2228360.2228364

Implantable medical devices, or IMDs, are increasingly being used to improve patients' medical outcomes. Designers of IMDs already balance safety, reliability, complexity, power consumption, and cost. However, recent research has demonstrated that designers should also consider security and data privacy to protect patients from acts of theft or malice, especially as medical technology becomes increasingly connected to other systems via wireless communications or the Internet. This survey paper summarizes recent work on IMD security. It discusses sound security principles to follow and common security pitfalls to avoid. As trends in power efficiency, sensing, wireless systems and bio-interfaces make possible new and improved IMDs, they also underscore the importance of understanding and addressing security and privacy concerns in an increasingly connected world.