How do hackers benefit society?
One session I went to at DEFCON dealt with our health care system. A group of hackers became aware of how many medical devices in hospitals contain software and are connected to some kind of network. It is one of the features that makes our healthcare system as effective as it is. Information is shared and updated to increase the accuracy of diagnosis and care.
One simple example was the storage module for heat sensitive supplies like whole blood or some antibiotics. They can be damaged, destroyed or turned toxic by too much heat. They have monitors in the units that are designed to alert the key personnel on the hospital staff if there is a problem. So if there is a local failure in the cooling unit, it will send an alert to the phone of the nurse or technician who will come and check it out.
Extend that to monitors and controls all through the hospital. Some regulate big things like air conditioning. Others watch small things like the drip lines in a patient’s veins. It seems it even extends to the records section that have the patient’s personal information and things like accounting. It is very complex and involved. It seems it is also very vulnerable.
The message was that anyone with evil intent and computer skills could hack into the most systems and cause death and confusion.
The team working on this has been trying to work with the hospitals and equipment manufacturers. They report that they are getting some response. I hope for all of our health they are listened to instead of arrested.
Hug a hacker. He may have saved your bacon.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.