The Software Freedom Law Center has an interesting publication about the software that runs in Implantable Medical Devices, like those that control chronic heart conditions, epilepsy, diabetes, obesity, and even depression.
The article mentions that, “Despite the crucial importance of these devices and the absence of comprehensive federal oversight, medical device software is considered the exclusive property of its
manufacturers, meaning neither patients nor their doctors are permitted to access their IMD’s source code or test its security.”
The SFLC proposes that “medical device manufacturers to make IMD source-code publicly auditable”, which “…improves software reliability and security through the identification and elimination of defects that might otherwise go unrecognized by the core development team”.
It’s frighting to know your life could be in danger, and all because of proprietary source code.
Read the publication here:
http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2010/transparent-medical-devices.html
