Norman cyber security expert warns medical equipment can be hacked

NORMAN, Okla. (TNN) - A cyber security expert is warning people of the dangers of medical items, such as pace makers and prosthetics, being hacked.

Teresa Rule runs a cyber security company in Norman and says medical items such as these are hacked far more often than people would expect.

She says the problem has grown exponentially in recent years and blue tooth technology is being used more frequently.

“Anything that has a Bluetooth that is not encrypted can be compromised. So a lot of pacemakers have a bluetooth capability and if it’s not encrypted it can be compromised. If I hack into your insulin for instance and I change the dosage, where it’s not dispensing the correct amount. What can that do, it means your diabetes is not being managed effectively," says Rule.

Rule says anytime we put any kind of technology into our bodies it has the capability to be hacked. In fact, she says it can even happen with prosthetics, which use technology to tailor the equipment to the specific body type of its user.

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