Insulin Pump Vulnerable to Hacking

Johnson & Johnson recently disclosed that it had discovered a security vulnerability in one of its insulin pumps that enable a hacker to exploit the device to overdose diabetic patients with an increased quantity insulin,although the risk of such an incident occurring has been described as “low.” Insulin pumps are medical devices that are attached to patients’ bodies through which insulin is injected into the body through catheters.Medical device experts believe this is the first time a manufacturer had issued such a warning to patients about cyber vulnerability, a hot topic in the industry following revelations last month about possible bugs in pacemakers and defibrillators.J&J executives told Reuters that they were unaware of any incidents of attempts to hack the device, the J&J Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump. The company has nonetheless issued a  warning to customers and is providing advice on how to fix the problem.“The probability of unauthorized access to the OneTouch Ping system is extremely low,” the company stated to Doctors and about 1,14,000 patients who use the device in the United States and Canada.“It would require technical expertise, modern equipment and proximity to the pump, as the OneTouch Ping system is not connected to the internet or any external network,” officials of J&J added.