IoT Security Assessment of a Medical Device

One of the world's leading medical equipment manufacturers asked Payatu to test its Wi-Fi- connected surgical stapler before a compromised device could put a patient's life at risk. Testers remotely jammed its communication, hijacked the stapler-to-controller link, and found broken authentication exposing its web interface, all within three weeks.

IoT Security Assessment, Wireless Communication Security Testing

At a glance

INDUSTRY

MedTech / Surgical Devices

CLIENT PROFILE

One of the world's leading medical equipment manufacturers

SERVICES

IoT Security Assessment, Wireless Communication Security Testing

ENGAGEMENT

Three-week assessment of a Wi-Fi-connected medical stapler

Key Takeaways

Client – One of the world's leading medical equipment manufacturers, whose medical stapler is used for stitching wounds during surgical procedures.

Problem – A malfunctioning or compromised stapler could be life-threatening, expose sensitive patient data, or enable ransomware and IP theft, making a security assessment of the device’s Wi-Fi-connected ecosystem essential.

What Payatu did – Tested the stapler-to-controller communication for physical, proximity and authentication-based attacks over a three-week assessment.

Outcome – Found the device vulnerable to denial-of-service, man-in-the- middle and broken authentication attacks, each with the potential to affect patient safety, data confidentiality or device availability.

the challenge

Why the client called us in

The client's medical stapler, used for stitching wounds during surgery, communicates with its controller over Wi-Fi, and any malfunction or compromise carries life-threatening risk. Beyond patient safety, the device also handles sensitive patient data and represents firmware IP the client needed protected from ransomware and cloning. The client asked Payatu to compromise the IoT system from multiple angles to surface these risks before they reached the operating room.

Determine whether the device's Wi-Fi communication could be disrupted or hijacked
Assess whether patient data and login credentials could be exposed
Test authentication and session management on the device's web interface

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scope of engagement

What was in scope

Physical proximity attack testing (de-authentication / denial-of-service)
Man-in-the-middle attack testing on device-to-controller communication
Web interface authentication and session management testing

Our Approach

How Payatu ran the engagement

01

Physical Access Testing

Identified the medical stapler's address and sent a continuous de- authentication request to the access point, disconnecting communication between the stapler and controller and jamming the link.

02

Proximity Access Testing

Placed the testing team between the device and controller to perform a man-in-the-middle attack, routing all communication between the stapler and controller through the intercepting position.

03

Authentication Testing

Sent unauthenticated requests to the device's web interface over an open network port, without needing to log in first.

Key findings

What we found

Denial-of-Service via De-Authentication

A continuous de-authentication request disconnected the stapler from its controller, even from outside its Wi-Fi network, risking a life-threatening disruption mid-surgery.

Man-in-the-Middle Communication Hijack

Positioning between the device and controller allowed full interception and control of their communication, including captured login credentials.

Broken Authentication and Session Management

Unauthenticated requests reached the device's web interface through an open port, letting an attacker gain admin access or trigger a denial of service.

the outcome

Results and Impact

With medical devices demanding 100% availability, Payatu's three-week assessment let the client close vulnerabilities that could otherwise have led to losses of millions and hazardous data breaches.

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