Design challenges for secure implantable medical devices

Implantable medical devices, or IMDs, are increasingly being used to improve patients´ medical outcomes. Designers of IMDs already balance safety, reliability, complexity, power consumption, and cost. However, recent research has demonstrated that designers should also consider security and data privacy to protect patients from acts of theft or malice, especially as medical technology becomes increasingly connected to other systems via wireless communications or the Internet. This survey paper summarizes recent work on IMD security. It discusses sound security principles to follow and common security pitfalls to avoid. As trends in power efficiency, sensing, wireless systems and bio-interfaces make possible new and improved IMDs, they also underscore the importance of understanding and addressing security and privacy concerns in an increasingly connected world.