# Advances and Challenges in IoT-Based Smart Drug Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review
## 5 Security Issues in Wireless Sensor Networks Used in Healthcare  
Security is a critical aspect of WSNs, as they can be vulnerable to hacking or unauthorised access. Effective security measures such as encryption and authentication are, therefore, essential to ensuring the accuracy of the data collected by the sensors. Figure 6 gives different security issues with WSNs used in healthcare [74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline
**Ref.** & **Year** & **Technology** & **Communication Protocols** & **Limitations** \\ \hline
[23] & 2023 & Implantable micropump & UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) & More testing needed for antiepileptic injection. \\ \hline
[24] & 2019 & Micropumping system & Not specified & EEG seizure detection limitations, lacks clinical trials. \\ \hline
[25] & 2021 & Reconfigurable micropump & HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) & System requires further in vivo testing. \\ \hline
[28] & 2021 & Servomotor driven by NodeMCU-based control system. & ZigBee & 70 m outdoor, 30 m indoor range. \\ \hline
[32] & 2020 & Closed-loop remote medical system (wireless implantable pump) & MQTT (message queuing telemetry transport) & Low-frequency signal limits information transmission, limited power signal distance. \\ \hline
[34] & 2015 & Micropump with integrated dosing sensors & Bluetooth & Micropump may not support certain drugs, small reservoir. \\ \hline
[35] & 2014 & Miniaturized helix antennas & RFID (radio frequency identification) & Power-hungry components may limit range. \\ \hline
[39] & 2020 & Intraoral theranostic wearable system & Near-field communication (NFC) & Smartphones may lack NFC capability, unreliable energy transfer. \\ \hline
[42] & 2020 & A near-field communication smartphone, a wireless battery-free wearable device, and pliable circuit board & NFC (near-field communication module) & PPy electrode limits drug delivery, limited range. \\ \hline
[44] & 2017 & Implantable electrolytic actuator pump & R-WPT & Limited flow rate control. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 8: Comparative studies of IoT-based drug delivery systems. Figure 6: Security issues in a wireless sensor network. Wireless medical sensor networks (WMSNs) face various security risks that can compromise patient confidentiality and the integrity of data transmission. Unauthorised surveillance and interception of patient data, along with the manipulation or tampering of transmitted data, pose significant threats [74]. Routing attacks targeting wireless sensor networks can disrupt communication and lead to the loss of sensitive information. Mastquerade and replay threats involve unauthorised entities impersonating authentic nodes or replaying intercepted data, compromising data credibility. Location and movement tracking threats can reveal the location of sensor nodes and patients, jeopardising privacy and safety. Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks can disrupt network operations, causing delays in critical data transmission. Implementing secure communication protocols, encryption, authentication, and network monitoring systems is essential to mitigate these threats and ensure the security and privacy of wireless healthcare systems [75; 76; 77; 78; 79]. Preventing security issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) used in healthcare is crucial to protecting patient privacy, preventing medical errors, and maintaining trust. Measures to prevent these issues include data validation to ensure authenticity and integrity, data privacy to protect against unauthorised access and disclosure, and data reliability to prevent alteration during transmission. Key exchange protocols ensure secure communication, while role-based access control mechanisms restrict data access to authorised personnel. Accurate location estimation, user verification, and informed consent protocols further enhance security. Additionally, ensuring data timeliness, managing processing overhead, and implementing post-compromise security measures are essential.