​Since we issued our last set of security recommendations for IoT device makers, we went back into the lab and generated a few more we’d like to share with you. We understand that vendors are primarily focused on creating functional devices, but making a device more secure does not need to take that much effort, and the benefits can be dramatic. Every layer of security puts one more roadblock between an attacker and exploiting a device. These recommendations don’t consist of the most heavy duty defenses, but they are five ways to slow down attackers.

​Medical device security has largely been concerned with attacks that might compromise device safety and effectiveness. An additionally important but under-appreciated issue is device integrity. In situations where devices are expected to provide objective testimony, the integrity of the device and the data it generates is paramount.

You probably don’t know Ross Compton, but last fall the 59-year-old claimed that when he noticed his house was on fire, he hurriedly packed some personal belongings, broke a window with his cane, and rushed out of the house. Police, suspicious of his claims, got a warrant for Compton’s pacemaker data. The data showed that he had not been in a state of activity he described at the time of the fire. That data, plus physical evidence collected by fire investigators, was more than enough to charge Compton with arson and insurance fraud.

​Cases like this bring to light the importance of issues related to integrity verification. The value of device logs as an objective record of facts only exists if we can be assured that the ability to generate records, and the records themselves, have not been compromised.

​Overview

Medical devices like pacemakers and drug infusion pumps keep detailed logs of all activity. Due to these logs value in monitoring patient care, device operation, and incident investigation, there is a risk of data modification attacks through physical or remote access. 

Consider a generic infusion pump that primarily dispenses pain medication and writes logs to battery-backed RAM. These logs record the dose of drugs as requested and delivered, any program changes, and when infusion starts and stops. If a patient suffered a medical emergency that could be linked to the pump, or anything went awry, investigators would depend on the device logs to tell them the story. But what if those logs didn’t have the whole story, or an accurate one?

​In this new world of "Internet of Things" and billions of networked embedded devices,  it is crucial for device manufacturers to bake security into their new designs before they leave the factory. Here are five tips from a team of security researchers who make a living reverse engineering (hacking) into IoT devices on behalf of industry clients.