Infusion Pump Secure Communication via HMAC Header Hashing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Infusion pumps face security threats due to remote control vulnerabilities and processing power limitations that make complex encryption impractical, posing risks to patient safety.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a secure communication system using a secret key and Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC) between infusion pumps and server computers, which allows for authentication and data integrity without requiring full Transport Layer Security (TLS) implementation, leveraging hash functions for message headers and incorporating time stamps to deter spoofing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex encryption algorithms are implemented for secure communication, then security is improved, but processing power requirements become impractical for infusion pumps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex cryptographic processing from the infusion pump and relocates it to the server. The pump only performs lightweight operations (generating random numbers, computing simple hashes) while the server handles the computationally intensive tasks of key generation, digital signature verification, and certificate management. This extraction allows strong security to be achieved without burdening the pump's limited processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic intermediaries (hash functions, digital signatures, certificates) that mediate between the pump and server communication. These intermediaries enable secure authentication and data integrity verification without requiring the pump to implement complex encryption algorithms directly. The hash function acts as an intermediary that transforms message data into a fixed-size digest that can be efficiently verified by the server.
2Adaptability or versatility
If remote monitoring and control capabilities are added to infusion pumps, then system functionality is improved, but security vulnerabilities increase due to potential cyberattacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by implementing cryptographic authentication and message integrity verification before any remote control operations can occur. The server verifies the pump's identity through digital signatures and certificates before allowing any configuration changes or parameter modifications. This preliminary security check prevents unauthorized access and cyberattacks by establishing authenticated communication channels in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the server continuously verifies message authenticity and data integrity from the pump. Each communication exchange includes authentication tokens and integrity checks that provide feedback on the security status of the connection. This ongoing verification ensures that remote monitoring and control operations remain secure throughout the interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
An infusion pump and server computer have improved network access security. The infusion pump has a network interface circuit to provide communications over a network and a processing circuit that generates infusion pump data for transmission to a remote server computer. The processing circuit generates a header portion of a request message having at least one field, hashes the header portion but not payload data using a cryptographic hash function and a cryptographic key to provide a hashed code, and inserts the hashed code into the header portion of the request message. The processing circuit inserts the infusion pump data into a body portion of the request message and transmits the request message to the remote server computer over the communications network.