The Future of Memory: Neurotechnology and Cybersecurity
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Advances in the field of neurotechnology have brought us closer to enhancing our memories, and in a few decades we could also be able to manipulate, decode and re-write them. The technologies likely to underpin these developments are brain implants which are becoming common tools for neurosurgeons. They deliver deep brain stimulation to treat a wide array of conditions, like tremors, Parkinson's, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The technology is also being investigated for treating depression, dementia, and other psychiatric conditions. And, though still in its early stages, researchers are exploring how to treat memory disorders such as those caused by traumatic events.
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"I wouldn't be surprised if there is a commercially available memory implant within the next 10 years or so," says Laurie Pycroft, a researcher at the University of Oxford. In 20 years' time, technology may evolve enough to capture the signals that build our memories, boost them, and return them to the brain. By 2050s, we may have even more extensive control, with the ability to manipulate memories. But the consequences of control falling into wrong hands could be "grave", says Mr Pycroft: “Imagine a hacker breaking into the neurostimulator of a patient with Parkinson's disease and tampering with the settings; or, another threatening to erase or overwrite someone's memories unless a ransom is paid-- perhaps via the dark web”.
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Kaspersky lab, a cyber-security company, and University of Oxford researchers have collaborated on a project to map the potential threats and means of attack concerning these emerging technologies. "Even at today's level of development, there is a clear tension between patient safety and patient security," says their report. In a 2012 experiment, researchers from the University of Oxford managed to figure out information such as bank cards and PIN numbers just by observing the brainwaves of people wearing a popular gaming headset. While the threats of brainjacking may not be imminent, it’s important that we work to prevent their materialisation. Even the idea of brainjacking "could chill patient trust in medical devices that are connected to a network". Hacking into connected medical devices is not a new threat. In 2017, US authorities recalled 465,000 pacemakers fearing cyber-security attacks. If fallen into wrong hands they could be tampered with in a life-threatening way.
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As medical devices become increasingly interconnected via the internet, hospital networks, other medical devices, and smartphones, there is an increased risk of exploitation of cyber-security vulnerabilities, which could affect how a medical device operates. And in the future, doctors will only be called in to take over in situations of emergency. Reinforcing cyber-security early in the design and planning of the devices can mitigate most of the risks. Encryption, identity and access management, patching and updating the security of these devices, will all be vital to keeping these devices secure and maintaining patient trust in them. For all that, humans represent "one of the greatest vulnerabilities"-- not everyone concerned can be a cyber-security expert, and "a chain is only as secure as its weakest link".
