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Hackers' Next Target — Your Brain?
Hugh Pickens writes "Wired reports that as neural devices become more complicated — and go wireless — some scientists say the risks of 'brain hacking' should be taken seriously. '"Neural devices are innovating at an extremely rapid rate and hold tremendous promise for the future," said computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington. "But if we don't start paying attention to security, we're worried that we might find ourselves in five or 10 years saying we've made a big mistake."' For example, the next generation of implantable devices to control prosthetic limbs will likely include wireless controls that allow physicians to remotely adjust settings on the machine. If neural engineers don't build in security features such as encryption and access control, an attacker could hijack the device and take over the robotic limb." Relatedly, several users have written to tell us that science may be closer to the science fiction "mind wipe" than previously thought. Put this all together and I welcome the next step in social networking; letting the cloud drive my limbs around town via a live webcam and then wiping the memory from my brain. Who has MyLimb.com parked and is willing to deal?
Okay, this only holds true IF we are truly biological machines with advanced programming. If we actually do have a soul, then this whole idea goes out the window (and a whole lot of other, much bigger problems come in).
Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
Go insane. It's the new encryption.
My webcomic
Goddamned, the unintended consequence of techonological evolution is that it makes every conspiracy theory ultimately more likely to do in the future.
This is my sig.
If it means that in the future our government will employ cyber-babes in ridiculous fuck-me outfits to fight crime.
(Still finding it ridiculous that the Major was essentially wearing a one-piece bathing suit and leather jacket as her uniform in the GITS tv series.)
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
HA! They'll have to FIND it first!
Don't they know?!? Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
HA! HA HA! HA!...
God you guys are predictable and boring. "Security issues".
Never mind the security issues, look at the comedy potential for the Nelson Muntzes of the future!
"Hey prosthetic boy, stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"
If everyone could hack into any person's brain and have sex with whoever they want, then what kind of society would that be like? On one hand, some super hot chicks are going to be pretty busy, but on the other hand, you would be reprogrammed periodically to think that bigfoot was hot.
This is my sig.
.. given human history the fall out of mind hacking may be a good thing, all of our problems come from human beings not being able to seperate truth from falsehood.
Brain Hacking I can see happening (taking control of someone's bionics), but doing the mindwipe is what I was taking aim at. TFA talks about rats getting their memories wiped, but I'd want to know more. Does the rat's basic personality stay intact? Did the rat relearn? Did the rat display the same actions after the removal of the enzyme? (That'll teach me to take a moment and think before typing - let this be a lesson to you!)
Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
Richard B. Cheney.
Surely, you hackers are able to find, detain, and deliver Cheney to The Hague.
Yours In Democracy,
Kilgore Trout
The big worry is not hacking, after all I am sure that there will be plenty of security software you can download, but rather the effects of spam.
if you tried to register mylimb.com?
Who else has a clear mental picture of Dr. Strangelove being choked by his own (gloved) hand?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Someone at work mentioned to me recently that it will be a scary day when someone can program your brain. Well I've already seen it happen. My local Walmart is in sort of a high-risk part of town, so the "greeters" will ask to see your receipt if you have any bulk items in your cart that aren't in bags. So people get used to having their receipt handy when they walk out the door. Now yesterday it was kind of busy, and one greeter to check receipts. Guess what I saw? A line of about 10 people waiting to show their receipt before leaving the store. Meanwhile I push my cart right around them (I've already waited in line for 25 minutes just to pay, I'm not going to wait again to leave the store). It appears that those in line were robots that have been programmed (conditioned) so much that they couldn't think of leaving without waiting to show their receipt. Keep in mind that there is not sign saying you have to show your receipt.
Who has MyLimb.com parked and is willing to deal?
Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am I the only person who notices that every single summary submitter tries to show off his nonexistent ability to be funny? This doesn't help the summary and every time I read a stupid joke in the summary like that, I have a mental facepalm. They make me feel embarrassed for the thread submitter, and it hurts; kind of like watching a really bad performance at a talent show.
Seriously, if you submit a thread, don't put a joke in it, because chances are your joke sucks and isn't funny. There are PLENTY of funny people on Slashdot, but you are not one of them.
welcome our new wireless overlords.
53 49 47 53 20 53 55 43 4B
Oh come on, am I the first pathetic anime geek to mention Ghost in the Shell?
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That would be the election of the closet marxist socialist militant afrocentrist obama who is now working to make the world a "better place".
Neo will swing in at the last moment and prevent the hack... or is that Wintermute..
Which is why if/when direct brain IO is developed, you won't find me anywhere near it, unless I am in a situation where it is the only option to restore normal faculties (ie: injury or illness). Currently, when a power surge or an attack occurs against my device/computer the damage maxes out at the value of the device (assuming I'm backing up data). If a power surge or an attack occurs via a direct link hooked up to my brain, the damage is total.
That said, the article is still relevant because neuro-tech has great potential to increase the quality and length of life in ways currently not possible. As always, it's important to stop and think about the short/long term consequences of actions (novel thought).
Faith is a willingness to accept something w/o complete proof and to act on it. Reason allows you to correct that faith.
At this rate it may have to happen some day. ;)
After years of not using a signature, I am going to make one to say the following: Fuck Beta
Realistically, how hard would it be to include an OFF switch on the external interface used for doctor diagnostics?
I mean, for pete sake people, what possible gain would there be in trying to break into a mechanical leg?
Can you take any part of that to the bank? There is no money to follow. There is no information to gain.
Do you see anyone hacking your IP Oven, or you IP Coffee maker? http://workingmomwa.blogspot.com/2008/06/coffee-maker-needs-security-update.html
How does an interface to a prosthetic limb somehow suggest a "mine whipe". Does my pedicure predict a lobotomy?
Come on, people. There is some fool snickering somewhere that the drunken brainstorm he posted somewhere has actually morphed into a story on Slashdot.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Better get in practice... start a shudder club today!
... welcome our new zombie bot-net overlords.
...taking over some wimpy kid's prosthetic arm..."Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!..."
Hasn't Rupert Murdoch been hacking into people's brains for years?
This is why I will not use any machine that changes the content of my brain. I will be happy to use artificial limbs and mind-controlled computers, but not mind-altering computers.
They've found through extensive research that a bullet to the back of the head affects a very thorough mind wipe.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
really? Are people this bored from being unemployed that they need to work on articles like this to pass the time. I'm disappointed with a side of disgruntled.
Ave Molech Setting
Stop hitting yourself! Why are you hitting yourself? Stop hitting yourself!
(For The Simpson's impaired, Nelson is a bully, prone to making people hit themselves.)
Sooner or later someone's going to figure out how to manipulate desire and loyalty at the molecular level.
Then all bets will be off.
Imagine if someone could kidnap you or your family members, implant a device in their brains that would make them forget their previous life and love and serve the kidnapper and do his bidding.
Or maybe I've been reading too much science fiction.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I always wanted to do some "ghost-hacking" and "stealing someone's eyes" like they did in Ghost in the Shell SAC!
I point you to Idle Hands and what we can expect when people start hacking limbs.
FYI- Some great shots of Jessica Alba...
Even if your personality remained intact, if the memories responsible for learning skills, values, and relationships were wiped, at best you'd be like a complete amnesiac, at worst, like a young child but without the fast-developing brain of a child.
If your moral values were gone, someone bent on evil could teach you the values he wanted you to have. If your relationships were forgotten you might latch on to anyone who gave you love and attention.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
It's not worth hacking.
We talk a lot here about how Windows gets hacked more than Linux or Mac because it has a higher market share.
What's the market share on a prosthetic limb?
By the way, the style sheets are totally fucked up on IE6. Some of us aren't running nightly Firefox builds, morons. Try testing your code on various paltforms.
What? It's a managed work computer. It is what it is.
No, USB devices aren't permitted either, so Portable Firefox is out.
---
ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
I'm not using more than 90% of it anyway. So maybe someone can make good use of the rest.
Sig this!
Thia week on sci-fi brain hacks.
This sounds like something out of a b-movie and it seems like stuff like this has been done / done in parts in many b movies.
If a person is being uncooperative, you may have to "let them go" but you can make a note of who they are then ban them from the store and possibly the entire chain "just because" you don't want their business. "This store reserved the right to not do business with any person" is legal in the USA, unless it's used to discriminate against a group.
If you have cameras blanketing the store and are bored, you can check the security cameras to see if he was just being an ass or if he really did have something (stolen) to hide. If he did steal something, your outdoor video cameras should have his license plate.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Yes, that is indeed likely. Especially since wireless controls are used in the current generation of implants, too. And those are hackable.
there, fixed that for you.
Well, it probably affects a previously-done thorough mind wipe too but I don't think that's what you meant.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
On behalf of several members of the community, I would like to express my shock and disappointment at some of Richard B Cheney's epigrams. For openers, Cheney has no fixed ethical principles. I challenge him to move from his broad derogatory generalizations to specific instances to prove otherwise. I try never to argue with him because it's clear he's not susceptible to reason. I am hurt, furious, and embarrassed. Why am I hurt? Because Cheney frequently engages in violent fantasies involving abysmal ninnies. That concept can be extended, mutatis mutandis, to the way that if you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem. Why am I furious? Because I've heard him say that children don't need as much psychological attentiveness, protection, and obedience training as the treasured household pet. Was that just a slip of the lip, or is Cheney secretly trying to permit nettlesome ratbags to rise to positions of leadership and authority? I'll tell you what I think the answer is. I can't prove it, but if I'm correct, events soon will prove me right. I think that he is careless with data, makes all sorts of causal interpretations of things without any real justification, has a way of combining disparate ideas that don't seem to hang together, seems to show a sort of pride in his own biases, gets into all sorts of unpleasant speculation, and then makes no effort to test out his speculationsâ"and that's just the short list! And why am I embarrassed? Because his prophecies are geared toward the continuation of social stratification under the rubric of "tradition". Funny, that was the same term that Cheney's lackeys once used to cause an increase in disease, nepotism, crime, and vice.
By writing this letter, I am really sticking my head far above the parapet. The big danger is that Cheney will retaliate against me. He'll most likely try to force me to have a nervous breakdown although another possibility is that he is secretly planning to cause unholy subversion to gather momentum on college campuses. I realize that that may sound rather conspiratorial and farfetched to most people, which is why you need to understand that if Cheney thinks that he can make me lose heart then he's barking up the wrong tree. It is no accident that the cure for corruption, conspiracy, and treason must start by exposing the problem to people who care and are not themselves corrupted. History offers innumerable examples for the truth of this assertion.
Cheney will spew forth ignorance and prejudice long before he can convert me into one of his zealots. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Of course, if Cheney had learned anything from history, he'd know that if I withheld my feelings on this matter, I'd be no less tactless than Cheney. We can say that a necessary first step towards recovery is to look at Cheney with new eyes, unclouded by a lifetime of false information and deception propagated by picayunish drug lords, and Cheney can claim the opposite, and it won't make one bit of difference. I want to give people more information about Cheney, help them digest and assimilate and understand that information, and help them draw responsible conclusions from it. Here's one conclusion I undoubtedly hope people draw: Cheney's allegations are like a Hydra. They continually acquire new heads and new strength. The only way to stunt their growth is to strip the unjust power from those who seek power over others and over nature. The only way to destroy his Hydra entirely is to provide more people with the knowledge that Cheney is totally reprehensible. We all are, to some extent, but he sets the curve.
In a sense, if we are to place a high value on honor and self-respect, then we must be guided by a healthy and progressive ideology, not by the churlish and heinous ideologies that Cheney promotes. We must provide a trenchant analysis of his conclusions. This is a terrible and awesome responsibilityâ"a crushing responsibility. However, if we stick together we can can show the world that I do n
and has been known for hundreds of years
I'm tracking other movements in the tunnel. LOCK AND LOAD!
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
"John, *punch* this is Jane, get over here,*punch* NOW!"
"What's going on?!"
"*punch* I can't stop punching myself! *punch*"
"Uhh... what?"
"I *punch* think my arm *punch punch* has a virus!!"
"*sigh* You should've switched to Firefox, like I told you. I'll come fix it."
Brain hacking has been around for a long time. Its primary vector is language.
Marketing, peer pressure, memes, prophecies, and rumors are all brain hacking.
It's just not a direct connection, but given how badly so many things have turned out at the hands of a large informed group, it looks like it succeeds most of the time.
There is only one solution: learn philosophy and critical thinking.
Futurist Traditionalism
tinfoil hat, anyone?
Who has MyLimb.com parked and is willing to deal?
Don't know if he's willing to deal but...
Registrant:
William Orr
5707 Mountain Oak Drive
Braselton, Georgia 30517
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: MYLIMB.COM
Created on: 08-Nov-06
Expires on: 08-Nov-10
Last Updated on: 09-Nov-08
Along the lines of an eerily plausible story:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interface_(novel)
If you've not read it yet, do so. And remember to vote Cozzano!
I know that plenty of people have contemplated suicide. I have, and I know people who actually followed through.
I think it would be great if the Europeans (you know americans never would) allowed would be suicides to try using the mindwipe drug in doses enough to render one a sobbering idiot. I mean, it would suck having to start over in an adult body, but imagine it like a second chance separate from your past. One has to wonder if the brain chemistry of a depressed state would survive the mindwiping.
Can we just down-peg anything from Wired as "author has read too much cyberpunk"?
Yes, these issues have been anticipated.
no, your worrying about it will only cost you your time and life (stress).
OK, so some weird commands are supposed to make someone do something totally opposed to their basic character?
Sounds like 19th century hypnosis.
It was crap then, it's crap now.
If they can find my other sock or when I put my car keys then they have something.
it's called advertising.
CNN, f-o-x got to some of us people. ... cant ..stop.. the BS. and you don't need to implant anything, the 'cracker box' is the one attached to the TV cable/antenna
there are few that are still resisting. are they the new Uber-nerd black hats?
Your brain has been hacked since birth. It's called "Marketing". Tons and tons of exploits in the wild, including appeals to Emotion, Manipulation of Statistics, Lying to the Gullible, Threats Against Afterlife, Us or Them, etc, etc. Unfortunately, although a security suite is supposed to be installed during adolescence, too many are ineffective copies of Public Education or have installation prevented by previous installations of Sunday School and Parental Brainwashing.
paintball
I'm posting this anonymous so I don't get in trouble... but we recently were working with some medical displays that are used in hospitals. Specifically these high end displays are used for diagnostic purposes - MRI, CT, X-ray, etc. In other words- very expensive and very very regulated.
While working with the display I managed to guess the default guest access password- my coworker was astounded. In 5 more minutes I figured out that the security schema was using XML to store the encrypted passwords (java based) and with that knowledge I manipulated the fields to use the known password.
Total time to hack the $30k device? 7 minutes.
What could I do in that mode? I could make it fail diagnostics. I could make it pass diagnostics. I could make it pass self-cal when it wasn't. I could introduce local artifacts such that it looked like 'splotches' were seen on an x-ray when there wasn't (thus possibly indicating a tumour). I could mess with the defect maps.
Now a properly administered system would have all this locked down... but all I would have needed was a copy of the service software (web based) and the monitor connection port (usually has two or three).
Scared? I was. And I'm a good guy.
It is that ... by silently critiquing religion, you've fallen into your own self defined trap of "US or them"..
And, we might also note, that "threats against the afterlife" is essentially interchangable with "saving the planet"
This is my sig.
Hacking your brain remotely is also a possibility. See this interview with a further "Stargate" member, that remotely viewed various locations using brain power. http://www.viddler.com/explore/monkeyclaus/videos/1/
Fifth avenue advertisers have this all sewed up. Been doing it for years.
Why bother
The Mind Has No Firewall by Timothy L. Thomas at the Army War Collage.
If you want to take this subject seriously, and I really recommend that you do, then you need a copy of this book:
Controlling the Human Mind : The Technologies of Political Control or Tools for Peak Performance by Dr. Nick Begich; ISBN 1-890693-54-5.
It is a well researched book on what is going on in the field, based on publicly available documents.
For full disclosure Dr. Begich sent me a free review copy of the book when it was released. I have supplied Dr. B. with background material over the years.
Links to the following papers here:
I'll add The Battle for Your Mind to the list.
it's usually called "religion."
How else can you be trained so thoroughly to ignore evidence right before eyes? It's the thing science fiction writers have dreamt about and the Catholic church has perfected in their indoctrination rituals. So complete is the brainwashing that people are willing to hand over their very last penny to an elected official wearing custom made Italian shoes, a pointy hat and living in a great white palace.
`Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous,' he told the meeting. `If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion.'
- L. Ron Hubbard
"But I have always thought there might be a lot of cash in starting a new religion...".
- George Orwell
I'm pretty sure we can take care of the machines, but I really hope the immune system isn't watching.
Peace of Mind. Now, if they get into our minds, they'll in-load "Vysyooalyze whyrled peaz", and we'll become the living pea-brains.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
It makes people believe absurdities, and commit atrocities.
I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
C.S. Friedman's "This Alien Shore"
So full of intriguing ideas it should be criminal.
Not exactly the most optimistic view of our future, either, though. Then again, it's about humans.
"...an attacker could hijack the device and take over the robotic limb." Stop hitting yourself! I said stop! Oh wait, you can't.
And those would be the BIG problems I mentioned. If it turned out that we did have souls, then what would happen next? What would stop someone from trying to figure out how to hack it, control it, etc? Or my personal favorite: if we have souls, then what created them? And are there more out there? Does that mean that something like Cthlulu exists? Or Satan? Or God? The soul question opens up a whole realm of ugly - it's a lot easier/simpler to believe we're machines because the implications of being powered by an immortal spark of energy that defies the laws of thermodynamics are really, really big. And scary.
Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
I, for one, welcome our "making the guy with a prosthesis next to you jack off" overlords.
"If your parents never had children, chances are you wonât either." -Dick Cavett
this sounds like http://phrack.org/phr4ck [phr4ck megazine] hack your brain...
I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. Ho ho ho.
That this hasn't already happened to you?
Every little mosquito is just coming to inject you with more 'truth' serum so your mind is easier to control and your memory is easier to modify.
See, you forgot that, didn't you.
Bad Guys In Columbia use a plant called the "Scopola".
Brain Hacking 101:
1. Take the root,
2. dry it out,
3. grind it into powder,
4. blow powder into face of victim.
5. take victim to their ATM.
6. victim drains account as required.
7. !!! Profit !!!
8. victim then wonders around till effects wear off.
Insert "Snow Crash" and "Feed" novel references here.
I wonder if they will be able to tag memories from a certain time onward ala Paycheck. Maybe give a drug that binds harmlessly to all previously stored memories, but also protects those from the wipe...
...
Hacking the braing has nothing of a novelty. Indeed, it's a common practice and have been used for decades with excelent results.
The only twist is that we do not call it brain hack. As scientists, we feel it too much a bit on the sensationalistic side of the fense.
Indeed, we use the widely academical-safe terms:
-Mass Media
-Advertising
-Propaganda
And with *Paranoia*(TM) we can even get people to do the job of getting info from their neighbour's mind and fetch us the results. But Paranoia(TM)is currently more being sold at our Federal Systems Division. Our busines customers user prefer tracking their subjects emails and search results.
Prof Dr. DooNooEvil, PhD
Researcher with a Larry Brin Fellowship at MIT
Distinguished Senior Scientist
Google Inc.
Also Serving as Chair Member of several of Your Favourites Friendly Media Monsters.
Your ad could be here!
Dunno if anyone else has posted this but.
Ghost. In. The. Shell.
Finally my own army of zombies, to take over the world!
Now all I need is a white cat and an iron glove. *MUHAHAHAHAAAA*
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
But honey, it wasn't really me! Someone hacked into my brain and *MADE* me do that!
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
GHOST HACK GHOST HACK
Who are you? Who slips into my robot body and whispers to my ghost?
*punches own head with robotic arm*
"You're doin' it to yourself man!"
I think it is possible that one of the first "brain hacking" technologies will actually be to do with the voicebox as this will likely be simpler than working out different peoples brain structures.
Everyones voicebox works essentially the same and when thinking words signals are sent to the voicebox that are the same as but not as strong as the sigtnals used to cause speech.
Nasa already have this working for astronauts for speechless communication in space. See here
I think technologies to be able to monitor human thought to be quite scarey and quite useful at the same time. A device that could be placed inside someones throat and self powered somehow may be a deffinate big brother style thing, but it would be great to see this used for good purposes such as monitoring what politicians think when creating laws in parliment.
It just depends on the application.
meridian at tha.net
Well, there's not much going on inside my brain.
actually this article reminded me of a movie i saw a trailer for a while ago, Surrogates. think it had bruce willis. anyway for those who don't know about it its about a world where everyone lives thier lives through prosthetic bodies, ran from thier home.
"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes."
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
We already have a way to wipe peoples brain. Remember guns? In some parts of the world, any adult can own an instant mind-wiping device. Some countries also posess weaponry that can wipe any existence of a city. People suddenly forgot that we are able to nuke the whole planet of ours out of life at any time?
The Sticky Issue - My TF2 Blog
I call bullshit; is this some new scare tactic from white-hats and the "security" software industry?
whats next? threat levels on symantec's site as relating to your brain?
great just what we needed, more fear mongering!
also "hackers next target" ? id say, if anything, "police/government next target"...
fear mongering articles earn no respect
http://www.twilightcampaign.net
A certain article comes to mind...
...hmmm where did I place it? Ah! Here it is!
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/12/1232206
Anyone here read "Synners" by Pat Cadigan? Remember: It's only impossible in the real world!
I've beaten you at a children's video game. Now you will pay!
MIND CRUSH!
It's been a long time.
So, people wearing tinfoil hats have been right all along. I'll just have to start encrypted thinking.
- Dan
in other words, Freudian Slip.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
Just make the logging very verbose so that hackers can be picked up and make the penalty for hacking devices that have to do with nuero shit super high like 10 years in jail.