Johnson & Johnson letter on cyber worm in insulin pump

the following is the textual content of a letter mailed to sufferers on Monday by way of Johnson & Johnson's Animas diabetes unit describing a cyber security vulnerability in its Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump:

"pricey Valued Animas® OneTouch® Ping® Pump person,

due to the fact that 2008, the OneTouch® Ping® insulin pump machine has been assisting humans with diabetes carry out at their best, and we are devoted to supplying our customers with safe and dependable merchandise.

We were notified of a cybersecurity problem with the OneTouch® Ping®, mainly that someone could doubtlessly advantage unauthorized access to the pump thru its unencrypted radio frequency communique device. We need you to recognize that Animas has investigated this difficulty and has labored with the ideal regulatory authorities and security experts, as we're continually comparing ways to similarly make certain affected person protection and protection.

We also need to guarantee you that the opportunity of unauthorized access to the one touch® Ping® device is extremely low. it would require technical know-how, sophisticated system and proximity to the pump, because the OneTouch Ping® machine is not related to the internet or to any external network. in addition, the device has more than one safeguards to protect its integrity and save you unauthorized movement.

in case you are concerned approximately unauthorized access for any motive, the pump’s radio frequency characteristic can be turned off, that is defined in bankruptcy 2 of phase III of the OneTouch® Ping® owner’s ebook. but, turning off this feature approach that the pump and meter will no longer speak and blood glucose readings will need to be entered manually on the pump.

in case you choose to apply the meter faraway feature, another option for protection is to application the OneTouch® Ping® pump to limit the quantity of bolus insulin that can be introduced. Bolus deliveries can be restrained thru some of customizable settings (maximum bolus amount, 2-hour amount, and general each day dose). Any try and exceed or override these settings will cause a pump alarm and save you bolus insulin shipping. For more statistics, please see chapter 10 of section I of the OneTouch® Ping® owner’s publication.

We also advise turning on the Vibrating Alert function of the OneTouch® Ping® device, as defined in bankruptcy 4 of section I. This notifies the user that a bolus dose is being initiated by means of the meter faraway, which gives the affected person the choice of canceling the bolus.

The bolus delivery alert and the customizable limits on bolus insulin can most effective be enabled on the pump and cannot be altered by using the meter faraway. that is also actual of basal insulin. We additionally remind you that any insulin delivery and the supply of the transport (pump or meter far flung) are recorded inside the pump history, so you can evaluate the bolus dosing.