Towards Realistic Battery-DoS Protection of Implantable Medical Devices
This addresses security vulnerabilities in medical implants for patients, but it is incremental as it builds on existing Zero-Power Defense methods.
The paper tackles the problem of battery Denial-of-Service attacks on Implantable Medical Devices by establishing design specifications, reviewing Zero-Power Defense techniques, and providing recommendations for comprehensive solutions.
Modern Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) feature wireless connectivity, which makes them vulnerable to security attacks. Particular to IMDs is the battery Denial-of-Service attack whereby attackers aim to fully deplete the battery by occupying the IMD with continuous authentication requests. Zero-Power Defense (ZPD) based on energy harvesting is known to be an excellent protection against these attacks. This paper establishes essential design specifications for employing ZPD techniques in IMDs, offers a critical review of ZPD techniques found in literature and, subsequently, gives crucial recommendations for developing comprehensive ZPD solutions.