Tattoo Password Can Protect Pacemakers From Hackers

If in the past you got heart problems, most probably you have encountered a pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker). This is a medical device that can use electrical impulses delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles to regulate the beating of the heart.

Now, some pacemakers are easily accessible wirelessly for reprogramming; the only problem is that this access can be maliciously abused by some hackers. The machines are, of course, protected by passwords, but codes can be easily hacked into. The solution that some researchers are proposing is to embed the password into the patient’s skin. And how would they do that? Through tattooing the password.

The tattoo passwords can only be seen under an ultraviolet light. In case of emergencies, doctors could easily access the password since it is under the patient’s skin. This password provides additional protection to the patient’s medical files by ensuring the security of their medical gadgets.

Although this idea hasn’t been exercised yet, it sure is good to know that researchers out there are trying to find ways to make sure that our medical files and histories are well protected. Hopefully, in the future, this tattoo password can already be used.

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