Computer hackers could target pacemaker patients in deadly new form of 'cyber attack', warn scientists

A 'cloaking' device that stops computer hackers maliciously hijacking pacemakers' radio signals could save lives, say scientists.

Doctors are increasingly using wireless pacemakers to monitor the regulation of patients' heartbeats, and can even adjust the settings remotely.

But earlier this year a team of US scientists using a radio signal were able to simulate interference with the devices and claimed that, in theory, hijackers could shut them down or deliver potentially lethal electric shocks to millions of heart patients.

Now Dr Tamara Denning, a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, has devised a cloaking device that is designed to resist any instructions that come from anyone other than the doctor.

The device  -  which has yet to be tested  -  could eventually be worn like a wristwatch, New Scientist magazine reports.

Although irresponsible attacks on pacemakers may seem unlikely, Dr Denning points out that in 2007 hackers posted flashing images to the Epilepsy Foundation's website - apparently with the aim of triggering attacks in people visiting the site.

'We wanted to draw attention not to a prevalent threat, but to a possible future one,' she said.

However, Dr William Maisel of Harvard University, who led the pacemaker hacking experiment earlier this year, said the cloaker was unrealistic.

In an emergency, a cloaker could be hidden in clothing and be hard for doctors to find.

'You're asking hundreds of thousands or millions of people to wear something every day for a theoretical risk,' he said.