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Johnson & Johnson Issues Security Warning About Insulin Pump

posted by janrinok on Wednesday October 05 2016, @01:08PM   Printer-friendly

takyon writes:

Johnson & Johnson has issued a security warning about one of its products:

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday issued a warning about a possible cybersecurity issue with its Animas OneTouch Ping Insulin Infusion Pump. The problem was first reported by Reuters.

Computer security firm Rapid 7 discovered that it might be possible to take control of the pump via its an unencrypted radio frequency communication system that allows it to send commands and information via a wireless remote control. The company alerted Johnson & Johnson, which issued the warning. Getting too high or too low a dose of insulin could severely sicken or even kill. There have been no instances of the pumps being hacked, Johnson & Johnson said.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 05 2016, @04:13PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 05 2016, @04:13PM (#410674) Journal

    I bet the number of deaths from using the product is pretty near zero. And if there are any, they are probably explainable. The pump does keep logs.

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  • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday October 05 2016, @07:04PM

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 05 2016, @07:04PM (#410770) Journal

    That's probably not a good bet. People using an insulin pump are not going to be the longest lived in their age group.

    So unless the pump has just been released there's a quite good chance that some users have died even if the death had nothing to do with the pump. Proving it had nothing to do with the pump would probably be impossible. OTOH, if it was caused by the pump, it might well be equally impossible. Someone going into shock while driving on a freeway is not going to leave much evidence.

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