When Reuters announced the successful deployment of the first Internet-enabled pacemaker in the United States, it was a dream come true for many. The news came late in the summer of 2009, three weeks after Carol Kasyjanski became the first American recipient of a wireless pacemaker that allowed her doctor to monitor her health from afar. Since then there has been a proliferation of Internet-connected personal medical devices, or iPMDs, which now include insulin pumps, glucometers, blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, walking canes, and of course, the ubiquitous fitness wearables. The Internet of Things However, a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission called into question the safety and security of interconnected devices. The report, titled “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World,” noted that connected devices may also collect, transmit, store, and potentially share vast amounts of consumer data, some of it highly personal. And because everyday devices and sensors are able to connect, communicate, or transmit information with or between one another over the Internet of Things, iPMDs now pose a security risk. In her analysis of the FTC’s report, Christine Kern—a contributor to the publication Health IT Outcomes—identified several possible security problems exacerbated by the Internet of Things, or IoT: unauthorized access and misuse of personal information, facilitating attacks on other systems, even risks to personal safety. Among these risks was the possibility that hackers could, for instance, remotely manipulate a connected pacemaker or insulin pump, with fatal outcomes. The Internet in Nigeria’s Health Fortunately, in my home country of Nigeria, implanted Internet-enabled personal medical devices are yet to enter the mainstream. While peripheral devices such as pulse and pressure monitors are available to those who can afford them, Internet-connected pacemakers, insulin pumps, and other internal devices have yet to make their debut. So for now, there is no fear that one of my countrymen could be remotely
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