Happy Tuesday, folks! It’s Tuesday, right? We had a long weekend in recognition of MLK Day here in the states, so I’m a little out of sorts. There are plenty of security stories to talk about this week, from the more-than-mildly-annoying to the downright scary. But we’re focusing on one story this week, because of its ability to be both annoying and terrifying. Yeehaw, Tuesdays! 

How Brainjacking Became a New Cybersecurity Risk in Health Care 

How about no, Science!? I know you’re currently screaming internally “What the h*ck is brainjacking anyway!?”, so from the article: “Brainjacking is a kind of cyberattack in which a hacker obtains unauthorized access to neural implants in a human body.” That’s pretty bonkers. And cool. And terrifying. But, research has shown the possibility/feasibility of it, in scientific ways! A recent article titled Brainjacking: Implant Security Issues in Invasive Neuromodulation has such scary initiatives as “...illustrate the potential severity of this risk, we identify several mechanisms through which attackers could manipulate patients if unauthorized access to an implant can be achieved.” Hahahaha….I’m only laughing so I won’t cry, y’all.

While this all sounds pretty Sci-Fi, it’s no joke: neural implants are widely-used in healthcare to help patients with damaged brains or portions of their brains “reconnect” with a body part. Totally feasible. And, for the record, not at all what any of us is picturing, right??