Health Canada warns of hacking risks for specific insulin pumps

Certain insulin pumps sold in Canada between 2010 and 2015 may be vulnerable to cyberattacks, says Health Canada.

The federal public health department is advising patients and health care professionals that specific Medtronic Minimed insulin pumps sold in the five-year span may be vulnerable to hacking from unauthorized individuals.

"The risk is not with the normal functioning of the device, but with the remote possibility of a cyberattack," they say.

A cyberattack could result in an individual's pump settings being altered by an unauthorized party that could cause an over-delivery of insulin to the patient (inducing hypoglycemia), or a stoppage of insulin (inducing hyperglycemia or diabetic ketoacidosis).

According to the company, settings could only be altered by an unauthorized person or party if they know the serial number, can connect wirelessly from nearby and possess the skills to maliciously hack the equipment.

While Health Canada is unaware of any patients harmed by the possibility of a cyberattack, and considers it a low-risk situation, they are advising diabetic patients who may own one of the 2,620 affected pumps that were sold in Canada to talk to their health care provider about potentially switching models.

Medtronic is unable to update the software to address the cybersecurity risks but has issued a notification to Canadian customers and health care professionals.

See the full list of affected products below.

• MiniMed 508
• MiniMed Paradigm 511
• MiniMed Paradigm 512/712
• MiniMed Paradigm 515/715
• MiniMed Paradigm 522/722
• MiniMed Paradigm Veo 554/754 (Version 2.6A or lower)
• MiniMed Paradigm Veo 554CM/754CM (Version 2.7A or lower)

Do you use a #Medtronic MiniMed 508 or MiniMed Paradigm insulin pump for your #diabetes? Certain older models may be vulnerable to cyber attack. Find out more: https://t.co/RqtJqnYILd

— GovCanHealth (@GovCanHealth) June 30, 2019

For more information on how to proceed if you have an affected device, click here.

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