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Day 6

Could hacking pacemakers and other medical devices be a 2016 cyber trend?

The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles paid a ransom of $17,000 US to hackers after two weeks of being shut out of their computer network. We talk to cyber security expert Jay Radcliffe about the cyber vulnerabilities of the healthcare system, from hospitals to wearable medical devices.
CBC Radio ·
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher and graduate student Haitham Al-Hassanieh hacked this Medtronic heart defibrillator in 2011. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Day 68:46Could hacking your pacemaker and holding it ransom be a 2016 cyber trend?

Homeland fans will remember the scene in season two when - spoiler alert - the Vice-President's pacemaker is hacked. Seems farfetched but one research firm, Forrester Research, identified wearable medical devices as a hacking trend of 2016. 

In fact, the healthcare industry has been called the worst when it comes to cyber security. Just look at this week's story of the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles paying a ransom of $17,000 US to hackers for access to their computer network.

We look at the cyber vulnerabilities of the healthcare sector - from hospitals to pacemakers - with Jay Radcliffe, a cybersecurity expert at Rapid7. He's also done pioneering work in the field of medical security, including hacking his own insulin pump.

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