After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s recent recall of 465,000 radio-controlled implantable cardiac pacemakers due to hacking vulnerabilities, the manufacturer has said that a further 280,000 devices affected, according to the BBC.
The potential for hacking was first reported by MedSec, a cyber security watchdog specializing in medical equipment, according to IFL Science. “Luckily, any patient fitted with one of the pacemakers affected will not have to have them removed and replaced, which can be invasive and time-consuming,” says IFL Science. “Instead, Abbott has released a firmware update that will patch up the cyber security vulnerabilities.”
The update will take three minutes to install, and prevent unauthorized access to the pacemaker (those made after Aug. 28 will already contain the update).
The FDA released recommendations to manufacturers for continued vigilance and monitoring of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
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