Weak hospital security means hackers could steal medical records and ruin blood supplies

Hackers targeting hospitals could spoil blood supplies, access medical records, and change defibrillator settings so they deliver random shocks, according to a new study detailed by Wired. The study, overseen by Scott Erven, information security head at Essentia Health, showed that medical equipment in a large chain of US health facilities was vulnerable to cyberattacks. Wired describes how poor network security, inefficient firewalls, and the use of default passwords meant Erven and his team were able to restart, reboot, or crash a range of devices during their two year study, and explains how the medical industry is only now starting to respond to these problems.