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Hospira Infusion Pumps Vulnerable to Hackers, Warns FDA

Health-care providers should stop use of the pumps, which were manufactured by Hospira Inc. and called Symbiq, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Friday. In recent months cybersecurity experts and the Department of Homeland Security have warned that the device could be hacked and remotely controlled, possibly allowing an intruder to change the amount of medication a patient received.

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The FDA and DHS noted exploration from professional the online security master Billy Rios, who might realized that detached problems could well be started on individuals by obtaining a hospital’s community. The FDA and Hospira are now not aware of any patient adverse events or unauthorized access of a Symbiq Infusion System in a health care setting.

“This (susceptability) could allow a fake consumer to monitor the equipment and alter the guidelines the…”

No cases have of attacks on the system have yet been recorded, but the FDA is strongly advising hospitals to stop using the system.

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Fiat Chrysler last week announced the recall of 1.4 million U.S. vehicles to install software to prevent hackers from gaining remote control of the engine, steering and other systems. We are communicating with customers at the limited number of sites where Symbiq remains in use, the company said. The FDA says some third parties still sell Symbiq pumps. The FDA warned about similar vulnerabilities to other Hospira pumps in May. The pump is used for delivering drugs into system of patients, but what if it gets hacked when a patient is alive just because of it. Hospira is now working with hospitals to fix the issue. Access to the computerized pumps can be gotten remotely through a hospital’s network. That import ban has since been lifted, Hospira said.

FDA warns hospitals to ditch IV pumps that can be hacked remotely