9781422275177

Cybercriminals have learned how to hack into a wide range of technology— including heart pacemakers.

to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate, can be placed in the chest or abdomen of a patient to help control abnormal heart rhythms. Overall, technology is a good thing. But there is also a dark side to the increasing use of technology. There are people who want to steal our personal information and hack into our social media accounts and post lies about us, or cause other types of trouble. There are also people or groups that try to break into government databases and systems, steal financial information from companies, destroy data or information systems, or create other problems. Others might even seek to harm us by using the cars we drive or the medical technology that is implanted in us. For example, a hacker could take advantage of security flaws in a pacemaker to deliver shocks to the heart when they aren’t needed, or withhold shocks when they are needed. This could cause a person to get sick or even die.

12 COOL CAREERS IN SCIENCE: PROFESSIONAL HACKERS