"It seems to me that the hacking takes place at the transmission link level, in this case, either a WWAN connection, meaning a mobile network, or a WiFi LAN," Harry Wang, director, mobile and health research at Parks Associates, told TechNewsWorld.

It's easier to hack into a network-connected device.The majority of medical devices aren't connected to networks now, which accords some measure of safety, but that's beginning to change, Wang said.

However, the chances of a hacker taking over someone's implanted medical device to commit harm or even murder are small. "The device base is small, and consequences will be much harsher for hackers if they do this," Parks Associates' Wang stated.

"[Radcliffe's hack] will raise the visibility of the issue and may prompt industry and government to act more swiftly," Wang added.

Don't expect a solution soon, because agreeing on one "will involve several parties and the process will be long, particularly if you involve national policy on spectrum allocation," Wang said.

From the article, "Invasion of the Body Hackers? Wireless Medical Devices Susceptible to Attacks" by Richard Adhikari

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