In the first Food and Drug Administration warning to medical staff over cybersecurity risks in history, the FDA has found that the Hospira infusion pump is liable to hacker attacks and it's currently asking medical experts and hospitals all over the country to stop using this.
In a time of major concerns about the Internet of things (that is to say, devices for everyday life that are connected to the web), the Hospira infusion pump has been deemed a cybersecurity and health risk due to its ease of hacking, which could put lives at risk.
According to The Associated Press (via CNBC), it is possible for the Hospira infusion pumps to be accessed remotely through a hospital network, although there is no current information as to whether that has ever happened, a risk that could end up in an intruder changing the amount of medication a patient received, something that could lead to major health concerns.
However, this isn't the first time that Hospira's infusion pump product appears on the news cycle over cybersecurity concerns.
Back in 2013, the company stopped manufacturing Symbiq, the Hospira infusion pumps, and the past few months have seen experts in cybersecurity as well as the Department of Homeland Security warning about how hackable this product is - and while the company doesn't sell the pumps anymore, there may be third parties that still do, and there are no official numbers on this.
BioPharmaDive reports that while the Hospira infusion pumps are the first to get an FDA warning over cybersecurity concerns, it's fair to assume this won't be the last time this happens; currently, Homeland Security is investigating around 25 possibly similar cases.
In any case, according to Wall Street Scope, the FDA has called that all of the company's pumps (used to provide patients with intravenous medication) be removed immediately from hospitals, though it is currently unclear how many Hospira infusion pumps there are out there at the moment.
