Cybersecurity Risks in Medical Devices and Their Impact on Health and Privacy Rights in India

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices can have immediate and potentially life-threatening consequences. A successful cyberattack on an implantable device may alter its functioning, disrupt its performance, or disable it entirely, directly jeopardizing the patient's health and safety. Beyond physical harm, these vulnerabilities also endanger informational privacy, as such devices collect, store, and transmit highly sensitive health data. Unauthorized access to such data can lead to exploitation, discrimination, and loss of patient trust in digital health-care systems. Thus, cybersecurity weaknesses simultaneously undermine two deeply interconnected rights—the right to health and the right to privacy—both of which are recognized as integral components of the right to life and human dignity. This paper examines the intersection between medical device cybersecurity and the protection of fundamental rights through a legal and ethical lens. The study emphasizes that digital safety is not merely a technical or regulatory requirement but a moral, ethical, and legal imperative.