The Importance of Securing Neural Implants by Design

Prof. Kevin Fu on How Privacy, Threat Models and Risks Shape Brain Device Security Marianne Kolbasuk McGee (HealthInfoSec) • April 6, 2026

Privacy and security must lead neural implant design as data sensitivity grows and devices gain capability, said Kevin Fu, director of the Archimedes Center for Healthcare and Medical Device Cybersecurity at Northeastern University.

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Research into neural implantable devices spearheaded by the Archimedes Center with $3.5 million in funding from the National Sciences Foundation is closely examining those and other related issues, Fu said in an interview with ISMG.

Research teams are collaborating on how to better build security and privacy protections into implantable neural devices - including therapeutic stimulators and drug pumps, diagnostic monitors and enhancement systems such as brain-controlled prosthetics - from the outset.

"This is a big project involving clinicians, neurosurgeons, multiple universities - really rethinking ...