The advent of electronics has transformed medical devices to become smarter and more convenient to our daily lives. But recent headlines of hacking point out a consternation of electronics. Medical device designers need to understand new tools and design techniques that can prevent hacking and illicit modification.
 
The issue of hacking and illicit modification is multi-faceted. Is the software protected inside a microcontroller? How can access to a chip be eliminated to prevent hacking? Is there a way to detect code modification? These are chip-level concerns. There are also system-level issues such as how to enforce an expiration date and how to authenticate genuine equipment.

We discuss several microcontroller features and modern design techniques that address these concerns. Read full article here.