Hospitals in danger: smartphone attacks could release deadly microbes

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Investigators found that an attacker armed with little more than a smartphone might disturb the safe operation of a negative pressure room located in a hospital or biological research laboratory.

Scientists at the University of California at Irvine found that a simple cell phone could contaminate a negative pressure room, which is a space in a hospital or a biological research laboratory. designed to protect outdoor areas from exposure to pathogens deadly.

In the research the authors explain that the mechanisms that control the flow of air into and out of the facility Biocontainment devices can be tricked into operating erratically by a sound of a certain frequency, possibly smuggled into a popular song.

“Someone could put a piece of music loaded on your smartphone or have it broadcast from a television or other audio device on a negative pressure room or close to it,” explains Mohammad Al Faruque, co-senior author and UCI professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

“If that music is embedded with a tone that matches the resonance frequency of the pressure controls in one of these spaces, it could cause a malfunction and a leak of deadly microbesadded Al Faruque.

The researchers claimed that the commonly used negative pressure rooms are vulnerable to remote manipulation, which poses a hitherto unknown threat to biosafety facilities.

To prove the above, tested their hypothesis with eight negative pressure rooms standard from five manufacturers and demonstrated that all devices operate at resonant frequencies in the audible range and are therefore susceptible to tampering.

“When sound waves collide with diaphragms inside a room, they start to vibrate with the same frequency,” explains lead author Anomadarshi Barua, a UCI PhD candidate in electrical engineering and computer science. “A knowledgeable attacker can use this technique to artificially displace the diaphragm, changing the pressure reading and causing the whole system to malfunction,” he adds.

How to avoid the danger?

the researchers suggested various countermeasures to prevent a musical assault to biosafety facilities. Sound dampening can be achieved by extending the sample tube from a pressure room port up to 7 meters. The team also proposed enclose the pressure port in a box-like structure. Both measures would reduce the sensitivity of the room, Barua said.

Al Faruque affirmed that this research project demonstrates the vulnerability of embedded systems to random attacks, but stressed that, with a little planning and foresight, facilities can be hardened against sabotage.

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