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Scientist Infects Self With Computer Virus

superapecommando writes "A British scientist claims to have become the first human to be infected by a computer virus, in an experiment he says has important implications for the future of implantable technology. Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading infected a computer chip with the virus, then implanted it in his hand and transmitted the virus to a PC to prove that malware can move between human and computer."

46 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    just plain stupid

    1. Re:stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It is quite scary actually. This proves many things.

      1. Flesh is not a valid software firewall. We need upgrades.
      2. The human body can't fight off computer viruses with our immune system.
      3. His body didn't alert him of the virus. No fever or any symptom.

      I, for one, am quite scared of these recent events. How can you discount him so easily? If I get a pace maker and someone is able to root it - how will I know?

    2. Re:stupid by bondsbw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So he takes a computer that can accept new software, inserts it in his hand, and puts new software on it. How novel.

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    3. Re:stupid by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agree. Transmitting from a chip to PC or vice-versa, is no big deal. The fact he put it inside his body doesn't alter that ability.

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    4. Re:stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let's just look on the bright side. He could have infected a small flash drive, taped it to has schlong, went to the computer, infected it, and claimed to have found the first sexually transmitted computer virus.

    5. Re:stupid by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 3, Funny

      This has some serious implications...

      "Mom, I know I said I'd try and call more often, but if you keep
      bugging me at work I'm going to have to downgrade your firmware..."

      Let's see how feisty she is with her pulse reduced by 35%!

      --
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    6. Re:stupid by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Funny

      He should have just stuck a USB stick up his ass.

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    7. Re:stupid by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Exactly..

      Look I cut open a cat and inserted a wifi router... CATS CAN CONNECT TO WIFI!!!!

      Can I be a scientist? It seems I meet the qualifications.

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    8. Re:stupid by homey+of+my+owney · · Score: 5, Insightful

      While I applaud your use of the cat, I think we need to ask the larger question: Was this guy institutionalized?

    9. Re:stupid by D'Sphitz · · Score: 5, Funny

      Prior art, I do this all the time.

    10. Re:stupid by Barny · · Score: 4, Funny

      But did you follow scientific method?

      Clearly this gentleman is much more learned and qualified than you, so is infinitely more suitable to have large storage devices anally inserted.

      Now, where did I put my 30MB "full height" 5.25" drive...

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    11. Re:stupid by camperdave · · Score: 5, Funny

      Was this your fifth cat, or was it Cat 6?

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    12. Re:stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's the University of Reading. So, yes.
      This dude works directly under Captain Cyborg himself.

    13. Re:stupid by feldicus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ye gods, I've got one even scarier.

      Let's assume, for a moment, that we will one day see an implantable device that acts as a "mechanical kidney". What I'm imagining is something similar to my cousin's ileostomy (he has Crohn's Disease), in which one kidney is replaced with a filtering device that either dumps waste into an externally connected bag, or holds it in a surgically implanted reservoir until it can be emptied. Something that complicated would almost certainly need some level of control, and I'm sure there are a thousand and one things that could be analyzed in real time.

      "Mr. Pratt, this is Packmonger Insurance calling to inform you that your payment is officially past due. Per the terms of your plan's contract, we are reducing your blood filtration rate by 10%. This is enough of a decrease to cause low-risk symptoms of renal failure, without irreparably damaging your other major organs. Please consider your impending itching, joint aches, and/or increased urination an incentive to pay on time in the future. Thank you, and have a wonderful day."

    14. Re:stupid by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now, where did I put my 30MB "full height" 5.25" drive...

      You're "sitting" on it...

    15. Re:stupid by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Blue Face of Death.

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    16. Re:stupid by sorak · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, at least he didn't put it on a USB drive and shove it up as anus. It would have been the exact same principal, but would have seemed less scientific.

    17. Re:stupid by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He caught a computer virus, as evidenced from the ability to infect another computer. However, he is far from the first. I sneezed on a keyboard, my friend used the keyboard, and later he sneezed on his keyboard. Using the scientist's criteria, that makes it a computer virus (can transmit from one computer to another). I was infected with my cold over two decades ago, and I doubt I was the first.

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    18. Re:stupid by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 4, Funny

      Look I cut open a cat and inserted a wifi router... CATS CAN CONNECT TO WIFI!!!! Can I be a scientist? It seems I meet the qualifications.

      Hell, with that sort of ingenuity, you should be able to get tenure.

    19. Re:stupid by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have a programable biomedical device, a Medtronics PrimeAdvanced Neurostimulator and it can be accessed remotely and "hacked" too.

      But here is the reality of accessing it or a programable pacemaker, you have to be within inches of the device to get a sync signal. For me, my neurostim is in my left chest, to get it to sync I have to get the PDA or PDA's lead within a half inch of my skin, a thick sweater will block it and make the sync turn into a trial and error shuffle trying to get it in the right spot. The sync is slow, maybe 5-15 seconds for something simple and 15-30 for a upload of new rules to it.

      This story is just another PR load, the Register has been dogging on another guy at the same school for over a decade about the BS he spews out. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/26/captain_cyborg_cyberfud/

      You didn't read the article you posted - "In publishing the findings, the researchers are not suggesting that heart patients face significant imminent risk from hackers. They say in a statement published on the research group's Web site, secure-medicine.org, that their findings should not deter patients from accepting these devices if deemed appropriate by a physician."

      "While all implanted devices must use wireless telemetry for programming -- typically in very close range (several inches to several feet) -- the risk of any deliberate, malicious, or unauthorized manipulation of a device is extremely low," Medtronic said. "In fact, to our knowledge there has not been a single reported incident of such an event in more than 30 years of device telemetry use, which includes millions of implants worldwide."

      Here the Medtronic guy is full of it, you can't get a sync at several feet

  2. epic fail by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    this sounds like that cyborg man retard from a few years ago.

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    1. Re:epic fail by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do you mean Kevin Warwick? Funnily enough he's also from the University of Reading.

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    2. Re:epic fail by Rogerborg · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I recall reading an article by an actual academic who described Warwick and Reading as an "embarrassing distraction". Mind you, I can't remember his name, but everybody knows about Captain Cyborg, so I guess Warwick has achieving his primary goal: self promotion.

      I do object to calling anyone associated with Warwick a "scientist" though. The level of their (published) research isn't even up to Mythbusters standards. Playing around with £10 of gubbins from Maplin then injecting it under your skin does not make you a cyborg, just a cretin.

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  3. stupid by afitz2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    OK that's pretty stupid.

  4. No, really by JamesP · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What a fscking moron

    Or a show-off.

    Or better, a fscking show-off moron

    I couldn't think of anything more irrelevant, like, REALLY

    I mean, this is Uri Geller type of BS

    The mind boggles.

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    1. Re:No, really by dunezone · · Score: 4, Funny

      Lets just hope Michael Bay doesn't read this story.

  5. How is this human to computer? by rotide · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Infect chip.
    Implant chip.
    Get chip to infect computer.

    How was it ever contracted, let alone transmitted by the human? You could wear the chip as a necklace, tie it to a paper airplane, or just throw it and get the same results.

    1. Re:How is this human to computer? by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Scientist" is retard. Loosing his funding would be the best thing that could happen to him.

      One would think if his funding were loosed, he'd be quite happy.

    2. Re:How is this human to computer? by gilleain · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Scientist" is retard. Loosing his funding would be the best thing that could happen to him.

      One would think if his funding were loosed, he'd be quite happy.

      "Dear Research Councils, I am very happy to be acquainted with you, and as a humble scientist, wish to loose my funding to the cash sum of 7 HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars..." Sorry, not sure where I'm going with this.

    3. Re:How is this human to computer? by EnsilZah · · Score: 4, Funny

      Tie it to a paper plane?
      Are you mad?
      That would mean the virus is airborne!

  6. Proves nothing by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All he showed was that a computer virus can be transmitted from an implanted computer to an external computer. The scientist did not infect himself with a computer virus, he infected a chip that he had implanted in himself. If it is news to you that a computer chip implanted in a person can be infected with a computer virus, then this is the wrong board for you.

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    1. Re:Proves nothing by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As Tyler Durden said, "Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken."

      -Peter

  7. I infected a computer with a virus by MacroSlopp · · Score: 5, Funny

    If we're looking for firsts....
    I once had a cold and sneezed on my keyboard.
    Does that make me the first human to infect a computer???

  8. What exactly was this meant to demonstrate? by Vekseid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Or was the good doctor merely going after being 'first' at something?

  9. Not quite an infection yet by Drakkenmensch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're still far off from GITS's brain hacking. His biological functions remain entirely unaffected, as he is merely carrying the infected chip with him. Effectively, he might as well just be keeping a passcard with an infected smartchip in his wallet, the result would be the same.

  10. More "Research" Firsts! by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Funny

    I will now be the first human being to have Linux installed ...

    *puts Linux ISO on USB flash drive and drops his pants*

    --
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  11. Bigger implications... by coolmoose25 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I agree with everyone that this demonstration was stupid... But the bigger question here deserves to be discussed - implanted devices CAN be infected with viruses, and we have to be careful about that... Implanted devices are becoming more and more common - it's not just pacemakers anymore. There was an article in Wired recently about the drive to create a "smart" insulin pump, one that would sense your blood sugar level and then adjust insulin delivery accordingly. This will become more and more common as we apply technology to "curing" disease... Keeping that technology virus free should be a high priority, especially as this technology gets integrated in more complex ways.

    --
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  12. Epic fail. by bynary · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wake me up when someone has actually infected an organic organism at the cellular level with an honest to goodness computer virus made up of 0s and 1s (which is theoretically possibly since the human body controls itself in large part by electric pulses sent from the brain).

    --
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  13. /. needs a policy in Captain Cyorg news by Scrameustache · · Score: 3, Insightful

    http://www.google.com/search?q=captain+cyborg

    Ah, without clicking on any links (we have to stop feeding that fraud), google let me know this was the work of his sidekick, not him directly. Now, I demand that this fraud be fully identified in all future slashdot posts about him or his minions (an addendum to this thread would be wise, too), because HE'S A FUCKING CHARLATAN!

    Seriously, he called himself the "first cyborg" for putting an RFID chip in his skin years after people have had pacemakers, cochlear implants, and fucking wires in their brains (for vision to the blind and computer communications for the paralyzed). All reporters who called him "the first cyborg" should be fired, all "news" outlet that published that crap should be fined and stripped of all journalistic-perks (press passes, immunity from certain police procedures, etc). He's an attention whore who pulls these stupid publicity stunts to promote his books, stop helping him with his frauds.

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  14. So... by yellekc · · Score: 3, Funny

    If I swallow my thumb drive containing all my favorite programs, would they come out decompiled?

  15. I think i'm safe by 228e2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    . . . my body runs Linux afterall :)

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  16. Simple carrier by Zen-Mind · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That is probable one of the biggest piece of false-science I have ever seen in years. The exact same thing could have been done with any compromised wireless device; the fact that the chip is under his skin is completely irrelevant. People helping to carry computer viruses have been around for decades, remember those floppies of shareware with virus on them??? Come-on!

  17. And for his next trick... by malice · · Score: 5, Funny

    And for his next trick, Dr Mark Gasson will insert an Atari 2600 controller into his anus, and proceed to control a Windows PC's mouse cursor with it. This is the first time a human has ever taken over control of a computer with the twitching of their rectal wall, and demonstrates the need for anal computer security.

    All hail scientific achievement.

  18. OK, gone too far. by Like2Byte · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm not one to complain about /. editors; but, come on!

    This is "News for Nerds - Stuff That Matters." Did CN just hire some recent college grads that majored in Type-Writer Maintenance and wouldn't know the difference between HD Memory and computer memory?

    Just....plain....stupid.

  19. I swallowed a usb disk by Errtu76 · · Score: 4, Funny

    and then i proved Man can core dump.

    Idiot.

  20. No, not really by Moraelin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, no, this fails to be even Uri Geller kind of BS. Uri Geller was a fraud, but he knew how to put on a good show and sell an illusion that was actually quite appealing. In fact, a notion that many people wanted desperately to believe in.

    And even if you didn't believe in magic, it was at least very interesting as in trying to figure out "where's the trick"? Before Randi went and showed how it's done, it wasn't obvious at all to us non-trained in the conjuror arts. It was a good trick.

    But this guy and Captain Cyborg... words fail me. Really.

    I'm a SF fan. I like the idea of cyborgs and all. I like the idea of transferring information directly from a machine to a human and viceversa, though I must qualify it there: to a human brain. I'm even willing to entertain the notion of human consciousness transferred to a machine -- though not to the extent of being a techno-rapture cultist or anything. Etc.

    I should be exactly the market target for this kind of stuff. Except not _this_ kind of retarded stuff.

    Someone thinking that implanting an RFID chip under the skin makes him Captain Cyborg, or this guy thinking that storing a computer virus on a chip under his skin makes him "infected"... isn't even funny. It's ridiculous, stupid, and just a complete non-sequitur for the actual topic of cyborgs. A guy with a pacemaker or hearing aid is actually more of a "cyborg" because those actually interface with the living tissue and perform a function. A chip that's under the skin but not actually connected to anything biological just is not it.

    It doesn't even leave you thinking "what is the trick" or "good trick", because there is no trick. It's just a bad case of equivocation. It's transfer from PC to human only by virtue of the vagueness of the phrase, rather than any useful sense or interesting sense.

    If we're to talk Uri Geller comparison, guys like these are more like the equivalent of some guy claiming he's the first guy to eat with his arse. So he shoves a spoon's handle up his arse, takes it out, and then eats something with that spoon.

    It's freaking sad, that's what it is.

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