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Dick Cheney Had Implanted Defibrillator Altered To Prevent Terrorist Attack
An anonymous reader writes "According to the Washington Post, 'Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he once feared that terrorists could use the electrical device that had been implanted near his heart to kill him and had his doctor disable its wireless function. Cheney has a history of heart trouble, suffering the first of five heart attacks at age 37. ... In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, Cheney says doctors replaced an implanted defibrillator near his heart in 2007. The device can detect irregular heartbeats and control them with electrical jolts. Cheney says that he and his doctor, cardiologist Jonathan Reiner, turned off the device's wireless function in case a terrorist tried to send his heart a fatal shock.' More at CBS News."
Sometimes take extra precautions!
News at 11.
How can anyone who kills Dick Cheney be a terrorist?
Breaking News : Dick Cheney has a heart !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOQI-LAEzM
comes to mind with the vice president's ( the "walking dude" aka randall flagg actor from stephen king's "the stand" ) murder in the same way.
Extra Extra!
Read all about it!
Dick Cheney revealed to have a heart!
Progressives outraged over use of resources!
What else are we supposed to say here, other than "yeah, if I were basically running a country with lots of enemies, I would also not allow wireless access to my pacemaker"?
Since, clearly, he does not have a heart.
Citation needed.
But in everyone else it's turned on? If it's an acknowledged attack vector, then why?
Hmm.. I wonder if this wasn't the inspiration of the previous season's NCIS episode "Need to Know" where the victim was killed in exactly that manner.
don't people in USA use it as slang for a male body part? lol ok, I'm immature. i haven't heard that name before. sorry. mods, you can hide this comment if you want :p
Okay, given Cheney's historical level of paranoia (this is nothing compared to some of his hijinks as SECNAV), I can TOTALLY see Cheney not understanding something and therefore assuming it's going to be used by people out to get him. Both "not understanding something" and "worried about trivial crap" are WELL within Cheney's persona. Having said that, whose wise idea was it to make a defibrilator that can be remotely accessed wirelessly in the first place? If nerd history has taught us anything, it's vulnerable shit eventually gets broken into, and wireless protocols are by definition vulnerable.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
It is not paranoia when even a script kiddie would want to kill you, half the world would like it, and you have a Industry-Standard-Security-Class device that keeps you alive.
He'd be dead already, someone would have flooded the black market with a "pacemaker-be-gone" device akin to the tv-be-gone ones already.
My sis has an implanted defibrillator. It's a weird experience to be sitting in a doctors office when a technician comes in with a machine to test the installation.
"I just need to turn up your blood pressure and heart rate for a minute" says the tech, as casually as ordering a cup of coffee.
A couple of button presses later, the look of shock on my sister's face as she realized that she was not, in a very literal sense, in control of her own heart is something I'll never forget.
She needs her implanted defibrillator but, holy shit, the power she must cede to Miss Random Device Technician by having it in her body is scary as all hell.
He keeps it in a jar on his desk.
It was smart of him to turn off the wireless. I don't think anyone can claim he is less than brilliant at whatever he does. The question that I'd like to know is if he had his bodyguards carry a dedicated detector that would alert if that particular signal was observed in his presence?
It turns out he is doing much better. It turns out that all he needed was the blood of a young boy. I believe the donor was Iraqi. Some weird O-Negative glycoprotein subtype.
PS This is a joke. Because I know THEY are watching.
The lifespans of these rich, elitist assholes are artificially prolonged.
I work in this field. Three or four years ago when all the big device companies launched their remote interrogation capabilities, I asked around at the biggest industry conference (HRS) about device security. The answer (when it wasn't "security?") was "oh, you'd need a programmer" (the laptop-like devices used to interrogate implanted defibrillators and pacemakers). Walk down the right hall in a hospital with scrubs or a white coat on and grab one and you're set, not to mention reverse engineering. I hope they're improving the security with this kind of publicity.
Well, you often need to tweak the settings or download logs. You really wouldnt want to have your skin cut open every time for that, right? Besides, it's wireless as in near field communications. You need to be really, really close. Inches away.
Killing a politician with subtle electronic sabotage is not appealing to terrorists. It is not dramatic. It is quiet. Terrorists would rather blow a city block with TNT to kill a politician. Killing somebody using defibrillator suits spies or other government agents.
Disabling wifi doesn't remove the danger. Directed energy weapons, like RF guns, can still target and disrupt the device in various ways since it contains electronics.
Higher Logics: where programming meets science.
It's going to get worse too. I think the movie In Time gives a good idea of what would happen if life extension became trivially cheap and easy for anyone to have. "Life credits" would have to be used to cap-and-trade lifespans, and then guess what...
I hope all the companies working on life extension know what they're playing with.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Finally, an aptly named politician.
Cheyney obviously watches Homeland, in which the Vice President is killed by remotely acessing his pacemaker.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Based on his history it seems more likely that he was worried that the "organs of state security," or even some of his corporate sponsors, might do this to him, to make sure that various secrets stayed, well, secret.
He's more machine now, than man. His mind is twisted and evil...
Yeah, we could suddenly all turn into homicidal maniacs who want to kill people who don't have enough life credits. Could happen. More likely we would limit everyone to 1 child (so 1 child per 2 people - a man and a woman). That way, no one has to be killed for running out of life credits, everyone can still have a child and a grand child and there will not be overpopulation. There will be no new people after log_2(n) generations. Since people still die from accidents, we'd in fact need to get people to have more than 1 child - people could have 1 child every t/2 years, where t is the average time for a person with a youthful body to get into a fatal situation (currently t is about 1000). Probably there would need to be even more children than that, since some people would not get all the children that they could. Everyone could also get 2 children, though then it would take much longer for the population to stabilize, since each generation would only get smaller by the amount of non-age-related deaths and the amount of people who opt not to have children. But yeah, homicidal maniacs, that's another route.
I would rather listen to an interview with Dick Cheney than Barack Obama any day of the week.
Imagine living with such paranoia.
I remember Nixon had similar tendencies.
They both serve as good examples of how not to be.
Probably someone who thought that sticking a cable through your chest to change the things configuration is an even worse idea.
Empathy motherfucker; find some.
That wouldn't be a terrorist. That would be a murderer.
The peacemaker was replaced with the new W.O.P.R. model
Nixon thought they were too extreme when they worked for him.
QED.
While I know this is far fetched I still hold out hope some day Cheney and friends will held to account for lying to his own people and the world to start a war and war crimes.
Perhaps by some unexpected political change or a fateful visit to the wrong country where that government has the balls to follow thru on perusing charges.
It also has to be meaningful if Cheney and pals only live for a year in jail and then die of old age it is far from an ideal situation.
The lifespans of these rich, elitist assholes are artificially prolonged.
How terrible. Far better if the resources were used to artificially prolong the lifespan of some random, insignificant poor person instead. Perhaps some trailer dwelling ham-beast whose greatest contribution to humanity has been squeezing borderline retarded crotch droppings out of her greasy cooter would be a suitable beneficiary.
Not in this case.
My sister has an implanted cardiac defibrillator that also functions as a pacemaker. It was my understanding that all implanted defibrillators have this functionality.
Of course, I could be completely wrong about that. The defibrillator she has replaced a previous pacemaker that was just a pacemaker. We were not informed if there was actually such a thing as a defibrillator that was just a defibrillator because such a device would not have been appropriate for her. For that reason, I may have the wrong impression.
Suffice it to say, she has a combo device that is always referred to by medical professionals as an "ICD" without mentioning that it also functions as a pacemaker. I assume they all do. If not, I'm sure someone on here more knowledgable than me will correct me.
How's he going to keep safe from an EMP shockwave?
One of my favorite headlines fromThe Onion:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-heart-device-allows-cheney-to-experience-love,2294/
"Love is a familiar; Love is a devil: there is no evil angel but Love." --William Shakespeare ('Love's Labors Lost')
That person would still be 100 more times a worthy human being as Dick Cheney, or any CEO.
I wonder if the wireless thing ever turned on properly after he woke up?
Classic case of the dumbasses we put in charge who go sticking their fingers in things they know absolutely nothing about. Cheney strikes me as a prepper and we need to keep dipshits like that out of office.
These devices have to be "woken up" with a sensor placed on the chest. Then it'll communicate with the interrogation equipment which can induces shocks via a defribillation test. The range is limited to about 15 feet. Despite the wireless option being turned off, anyone with the device used to interrogate can still induce a shock with the chest sensor.
Still, a shock could still be induced without the tech by causing artifact in the leads. Inappropriate shocks have been reported in people operating heavy equipment like jackhammers and chainsaws. So shake the shit out of him and he may get an inappropriate shock. Worst that would happen there is induction of ventricular fibrillation which would only cause an appropriate shock.
Chewbacon
The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
no skin off his penis. he's rich, bitch! got paid more money from his oil company job while being veep than he was paid to be vice president. and republicans in congress doubled his salary.
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
to survive "advanced interrogation techniques" aka Waterboarding? just interested.
That they were actually concerned about this tells you everything you need to know about Dick and American politics.
They know they are criminals so they live in fear.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Al Qaida started the war. They bombed two US embassies in Africa, killing hundreds and wounding a thousand. They bombed the US Navy destroyer the USS Cole, nearly sinking it. They attacked on 9/11 and kill 3,000. Can we stop forgetting that, mm kay?
You can disagree with Cheney's politics- I certainly do.
But this is entirely reasonable for him to take. It prevents assassination and blackmail attempts being launched in a potentially trivial fashion. As was said above, why would you want an off switch? And if you or I can personally justify it, we'd probably not be able to as vice president.
They'd NEVER attack Cheney!
Keeping him alive at all costs, would be the best thing for "Terrorists", ever. Kill the Cheney's in this world, and these "terrorists" have no cause for which to exist.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Yeah, those damn Iraqies. Not even counting them. It was all fabricate with lie$. Yeloow cake! From the belgium congo mind you!
This was a technique used by fictional assassin John Rain in Barry Eisler's "Rain Fall".
The assassin got right up to his victim in the subway and placed a device that would trigger the pacemaker on a delay.
Anyone who offed Dick Cheney would be a hero of democracy and humanity, not a "terrorist"!
Hold on a second, Morty Zuckerman's US NEWS and World Report ran a cover touting Dick(head) Cheney as a "tough guy".
Are you doubting Morty Zuckerman? He is on the Trilateral Commission, after all......
You really dropped the ball, Anonymous.
Wait, is this what the Tea Party wants stopped so badly?
It's "Medical Device Attacks" they're worried about, and on Mr. Cheney?
Here I'd been thinking it was that item in the tax code that the industry lobbies tart up to repeal every-single-damn-year
and are willing to shut down the government as a tactic (they did get the medical device taxes cut in half a few years ago).
Just wait until He farts, the wireless thingy will turn on by itself, then he/it can be owned. Only problem, paper toilet and dildos turn off again the thingy on his heart.
A possible movie concept, and game:
The transmitter was put back in the pace maker. It is tuned so that every time one passes by a Red Box the pace maker starts playing "Poker Face", acustic version, by Lady Gaga; downloaded from The Pirate Bay.
This turns out to be the reason why Snowden left the NSA, which is verifiable on WikiLeaks.
We all know Cheney HAS NO heart....
Hacker dies mysteriously days before describing pacemaker exploit:
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/one-last-interview-with-barnaby-jack
Cheney experiences love alright - his love of authoritarian power and the ongoing destruction of the US as a democracy.
What's next, admission that Barnaby Jack was classified as a foreign terrorist and assassinated?
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised since the term hacking is now becoming synonymous with terrorism.
Nor is assassination. Glad to see /. use the right word. Are we ever going to hear a politician speak intelligently?
You have to guess that Dick Cheney is American? That must be some rock you've been hiding under.
You are mixing things up, and you are incorrect. The plan was to take the Caucasus oil fields [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Caucasus], not Ural. There was no way Germans could take Ural in 1943, and there was no oil there anyway.
The real story is that Hitler needed to take Caucasus oil to keep his war machine running. He had to take Stalingrad to keep his flanks safe. Look at the map [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Eastern_Front_1942-05_to_1942-11.png]. It wasn't a detour, Hitler had to take Stalingrad to keep the front stable, and he failed. He failed due to his underestimation of Russian heroism and overestimation of Wehrmacht.
Terrorists obviously know the best way to terrorize Americans is to keep people like Cheney alive.
can't sleep slashdot will eat me
Are scum. You are vile and so smart you're fucking idiots. Dick Chaney is the fucking man, and you're a fucking loser.
seo egypt
seo egypt
Killing Dick Cheney would be a murder, not terrorism. Terrorism is supposed to scare people, and I see nothing scaring with the idea Dick Cheney could be killed with a "weapon" that would not affect me.
Data: If you had an off switch, Doctor, would you not keep it secret?
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
"tough guy".
that's a good one, even satan is laughing, whats that my dark overlord? He wants me to ask if he struck down Cheney would the US go after him as a terrorist?
Is Cheney's paranoia from his reduced blood flow to his brain?
Better yet, the physical and psychological state of candidates for high public office should be considered as an eligibility requirement prior to political party endorsement.
We must use the Obamacare law against the psychopaths who like Cheney and Obama will try to gain political office to destroy the country.
All jokes aside - who thought it was a good idea to use wifi to control the human equivalent of overclocking? Sure - people can be killed with RF-guns that destroys pacemakers or even with old fashioned guns or poison and in many other ways. But why add another possibility to the mix? Also given all the jokes on this topic (thought I was on reddit for a while) I'd say that Cheney have good reason to belive someone might not like him. But then I am a stupid foreigner and you are possibly making all these jokes to show the man that you love him very much.
'zo de waard is vertrouwt hij zijn gasten'
or something like: as does the subject trust [something], so does he trust others
Must have been watching "Heartland."
I have a ICD-Defibrilator as well. Yes the thing can be accessed wirelessly, once you place a receiver over the area, sync the device, AND have the proper equipment to interface the specific device. How else do you expect to access something implanted internally without cutting someone open to connect to it and adjust the programming.
There is NO love lost on "The Dick" but to make sensational claims about a trained professional being able to access a defib wirelessly is like running in circles and shouting "the sky is falling! the sky is falling"
Take a chill pill .. or breath into this paper bag for a bit
an easier method to kill said device?
I don't really like the Republican party any more. They're running the country into the ground. But listening to how hateful the liberals are, and how they wish death to their political opponents (see list below), I can't really support them either. I don't want to be a member of the party of hate. So for now I'll be an independent.
That being said, if even a few of the below links are accurate, wouldn't you protect yourself from the left, who profess to want their political opponents to die?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/9757837/
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/07/16/dan-savage-hbos-real-time-i-wish-republicans-were-all-f-king-dead
http://www.examiner.com/article/liberal-talker-mike-malloy-says-he-wants-gop-literally-dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItcqrHLZGDg&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/media-research-center-documents-liberal-death-wishes-against-conservatives
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/the-dark-side-of-liberalism-death-threats-to-conservatives-and-racist-threats/question-3628447/
Damn he is looking healthier, has amazing compatibility luck, could there be anyone lower on any recipient list. His ability to buy a heart as needed, wow, I wish all US could get such good affordable medical care. At his age being on the top of a transplant list in the USA is unusual, maybe he went to China to get a transplant. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/dick-cheney-heart-transplant_n_1377487.html
Did anyone investigate, or ask during any interview?
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
GOP/TP started a death-threat pissing war in 1980, liberals finally reply in the uncivil-pissing-war battles during the PBO decade 2008. Now, GOP/TP wealth-elitist and minions whine about US Liberals, Independents, and Patriots being mean to GOP/TP, because of truthiness white-trash dogma and commentaries. It is time to stand against the evils of GOP/TP wealth-elitist and minions hate, lies, and bigotry. http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html
I have not forgotten the past three decades of GOP/TP politician/members fear-mongering antics and hate speech. TREASON/CRIMES: Iraq, criminal deletion of Whitehouse email/message traffic, outing CIA agents ....
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
GOP/TP wealth-elitist and minions can never have enough money. Mo-money will always justify killing by proxy/surrogates. Using our USA Warriors for global expression of GOP/TP wealth-elitist and minions agenda/dogma affects US all like a cancer rotting US from within our borders, laws, and institutions. GOP/TP wealth-elitist and minions are the domestic enemy looking to topple The USA Constitution and enslave US The People.
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
Having said that, whose wise idea was it to make a defibrilator that can be remotely accessed wirelessly in the first place?
Probably someone who thought that sticking a cable through your chest to change the things configuration is an even worse idea.
Ahh, then not Cheney, who had his implant broken precisely so that would be the only way to do it...
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
Not good enough for Cheney apparently
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you