Half a million pacemakers in the US get an update due to vulnerabilities

The FDA, a US food and drug watchdog, has approved a firmware update for 465,000 pacemakers in the US and says it can be implemented. The update should prevent unauthorized access.

The FDA reports that the update has been approved and should be viewed as a recall to reduce the risk to users of the devices. The watchdog recommends that patients discuss the potential benefits and risks of an update with their healthcare providers.

According to Abbott, the update process takes about three minutes and requires a visit to a doctor. The organization says patients can discuss the update at their next scheduled visit to a healthcare provider. Running the update would pose few risks.

The FDA had already warned in January about vulnerabilities in the pacemakers of Abbott, which the original maker St. Jude Medical has acquired. An attacker could make contact with a device via an RF connection and then, for example, drain the battery or shock a person. So far, there have been no reports of individuals being victims of such an attack.

The update requires authorization before an external device can communicate with a pacemaker. In addition, the new firmware provides encryption, according to Abbott. The pacemaker manufacturer tells the BBC that there are still 280,000 devices outside the US that also need an update.