Journal #13 Due Date April,18 2010

Technology is on the rise everyday, and in the article that I'v read there has been a medical twist. In the article there were concerns of hackers getting into heart defribillators and isulin pumps. This will cause a great danger to the patient that have these life ruling devices implanting in there bodies. If for example as the article stated a hacker gets in to the insulin pump of a diabetic patient, it could either send the blood sugar sky high or sending to record lows. In either of the situations it poses a life threating moment for the patient. Therefore medical specialist want to come up with a way to protect patients from this ever occuring. In the article a student by the name of Tamara Dennings came up with an idea of a security passcode that only the patient knows. This posed great danger in itself, if ever a patient is unconscious who will control the heart rhythms if the patient is the only one that knows the passcode. Dennings came up with the idea of tattooing a barcode or invisible ink on the patient so that any time this occurs the doctors or nurses will know the password. The doctors and nurses would also have the option of carrying a device that deactivates the defibrillator at the time of emergency. While designing these devices there must be regulations, and the FDA must approve and is highly set on security of these devices. The wireless connection is also a concern just as wireless anyone with in fifeteen feet of the device can pick up a signal and get into the network. Motive and convience where also concerns in these projects, as stated in the article there may be a motive for someone to get the patient causing death.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/16/medical.device.security/index.html

I feel that this article was very effective in so many ways. I never knew there were insulin pumps that controls blood sugar. These inventions are so convient for the customer, but can be so incovient until a hacker gets into the device and cause harm or death. I believe that the presentation of Dennings were very significant. I dont feel that every patient that have these devices will agree to having a tattoed barcode on their skin. I believe the deactivation device or the password on the patients bracelet would be most effective in the time of a emergency. I do believe the FDA should be very strict when it comes to these creation and distribution of these devices because once its in the wrong hand its a death situation, which isnt fair for the patient who confide in there life monitor.