Biometric-Based Two-Level Secure Access Control for Implantable Medical Devices During Emergencies

Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) are widely used to treat chronic diseases. Nowadays, many IMDs can wirelessly communicate with an outside programmer (reader). However, the wireless access also introduces security concerns. An attacker may get an IMD reader and gain access to a patient's IMD. IMD security is an important issue since attacks on IMDs may directly harm the patient. A number of research groups have studied IMD security issues when the patient is in non-emergency situations. However, these security schemes usually require the patient's participation, and they may not work during emergencies (e.g., when the patient is in comma) for various reasons.