Almost 500,000 Pacemakers Recalled over Hacking Potential
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled 465,000 pacemakers after discovering security flaws that could allow hackers to reprogram the devices to run the batteries down or even modify the patient’s heartbeat, potentially putting half a million patients lives at risk.
Six types of pacemakers, all manufactured by health-tech firm Abbott (formerly of St. Jude Medical) are affected by the recall, which includes the Accent, Anthem, Accent MRI, Accent ST, Assurity, and Allure.
All the affected models are radio-frequency enabled cardiac devices—typically fitted to patients with irregular heartbeats and patients recovering from heart failure—and were manufactured before August 28th.
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