A study released today shows that heart monitors installed in over 100,000 patients are vulnerable to a remote software hack that could allow attackers to suck your social security number right out of your body. Apparently these devices send your medical data to a computer where your doctor can monitor your health, but the data isn't encrypted and contains a lot more than your heart rate. According to AP, "Someone intercepting the transmissions could retrieve such data as the patient's birth date, medical ID number and, in some cases, Social Security number." Nice. There's even a remote possibility that a similar hack would allow somebody to stop your heart, if they bump into your chest with an antenna. Heart plugs from Dune, here we come. [AP via Futurismic]

Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at .