Security should be the default. I don't think it will cost much more to make them secure relative to what medical hardware already costs; adding encryption to t

Security should be the default. I don't think it will cost much more to make them secure relative to what medical hardware already costs; adding encryption to the microprocessor in a state-of-the-art implant isn't going to be a hefty line item on that particular BOM. Think of it this way--any life-critical machine should have at least some consideration payed to security during design. Even non life-critical machines need security, so is it acceptable when we entirely ignore it in the whole field of medicine? If we leave it that that way, then yes, be utterly certain that it will be exploited somewhere by somebody. All information security paranoia is proven correct on a long enough timeline. Ask any infosec professional--does _____ system really need security? The answer is going to be yes, regardless of what's in the blank. We've learned this many times with many devices which we used to think nobody would ever bother to tamper with or that couldn't be made to do anyone harm. Every time our hubris brightly illustrated and we finally realize that yes, every networked device has the potential to be crucial to somebody and it all needs at least some consideration toward security.