The report calls for new regulation to make sure that devices connected to the internet are not vulnerable to hacking. The authors point out that many were designed before the threat was realised.
In recent years there have been a number of recalls of medical devices because they were found to be vulnerable to cyberattack.
Paul Taylor, UK Lead Partner – Cyber Security at KPMG and lead author of the report said: “There is no going back on the Internet of Things, it is here to stay and offers many new capabilities.
The team also warned householders to be more careful about giving out their internet password to friends or neighbours.
But Professor Jennings warned that many people simply did not have the skills to ensure their data was secure.
“It is worrying that there is a low level of data literacy,” he added. “We should be teaching it from primary school.
“Don’t give guests your wifi password. My son brings over his friends and they all seem quite nice. But they could all be budding hackers and could misuse your network. Or they could pass on the password.
“So I would recommend people set up a guest network in their house – and let guests log into that.”
Article Appeared @https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/03/14/hackers-could-kill-patients-attacking-pacemakers-warns-royal/