Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, have demonstrated how it is technically possible for hackers to plant malicious code in hospital equipment such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
With the help of the malicious code, doctors can be made to make incorrect diagnoses, for example that a certain person has cancer. This, in turn, could be used to induce politicians to resign early, reports the Washington Post.
The researchers are now urging hospital security officials to take steps to prevent these kinds of attacks. For example, it is recommended that all data be encrypted, which would make it more difficult for hackers to manipulate the information.