You know how annoying it is when an anti-virus scan starts while you’re doing something on your computer, slowing everything down or even freezing it? Now imagine this scenario:
A critical medical equipment crashed during a heart procedure due to a timely scan triggered by the antivirus software installed on the PC to which the said device was sending data for logging and monitoring.
The device in question is Merge Hemo, a complex medical equipment used to supervise heart catheterization procedures, during which doctors insert a catheter inside veins and arteries in order to diagnose various types of heart diseases.
This isn’t quite as scary as “ransomware” hitting hospitals, putting lives at risk unless a ransom is paid, but it’s close – and it shows why you don’t have to be a Luddite to push back at the software-ification of everything.
Here’s the story in Softpedia, which I spotted via Slashdot.
Return to the Concord Monitor