Abbott releases firmware patch to fix cybersecurity flaws in 350,000 medical devices

Abbott has released its final round of cybersecurity updates to fix severe flaws in its pacemakers, programmers and remote monitoring systems. The update will allow the devices to monitor abnormal battery behavior and vibrate to alert patients when something is wrong. The update applies to about 350,000 of Abbott’s implantable cardioverter defibrillators and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators, originally manufactured by St. Jude Medical. These flaws were first made public in 2016 and could allow unauthorized users to access the devices and modify programming controls.