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Europol Predicts First Online Murder By End of This Year

Posted by Soulskill on from the need-a-sherlock-to-go-with-watson dept.

An anonymous reader sends this story from The Stack: The world's first "online murder" over an internet-connected device could happen by the end of this year, Europol has warned. Research carried out by the European Union's law enforcement agency has found that governments are not equipped to fight the growing threat of "online murder," as cyber criminals start to exploit internet technologies to target victims physically. The study, which was published last week, analyzed the possible physical dangers linked to cyber criminality and found that a rise in "injury and possible deaths" could be expected as computer hackers launch attacks on critical connected equipment. The assessment particularly referred to a report by IID, a U.S. security firm, which forecast that the world's first murder via a "hacked internet-connected device" would happen by the end of 2014.

94 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Self fulfilling prophecy by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Challenge accepted?

    1. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by gl4ss · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't know why it needs "hacked".

      many bombs have been detonated for almost two decades with network connected means.

      USA routinely kills people via network connected flying devices that shoot missiles on network commands..

      oh well I guess they're referring to only networked devices that weren't meant to kill in the first place..

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by Tom · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Mod parent up. The first "online murder" happened the day they put weapons on a drone. TFA is just the usual news-that-try-to-scare-you bullshit.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    3. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is talking about the premeditated killing of a civilian by another civilian ("murder") occurring as a cause of specific data transmissions on the public TCP/IP-based internet ("online").

      If you're going to count radio-control systems and military systems then you can go back a LOT further than armed drones, but that's not what this story is about.

    4. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by jafiwam · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is talking about the premeditated killing of a civilian by another civilian ("murder") occurring as a cause of specific data transmissions on the public TCP/IP-based internet ("online").

      If you're going to count radio-control systems and military systems then you can go back a LOT further than armed drones, but that's not what this story is about.

      Does "Swatting" count?

      If so, then yeah I believe it could or has happened already. Skype is being used to call local police forces on the other side of the planet to send the cops to peoples' houses over trivial shit like rivalries in video games.

      Given the nature of many police forces, it won't be long before (or has already occurred) someone gets shot by police over it, or police shot by home owners (if in some states. Not you Texas, your gun laws suck.)

    5. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      Drone strikes already murder people every day.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    6. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by bickerdyke · · Score: 1

      but that's not what this story is about.

      But that's what news stories should have been about when killing people using remote controlled devices was news and not normal.

      --
      bickerdyke
    7. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by Translation+Error · · Score: 2

      As swatting ultimately amounts to manipulating humans to do the deed, I'd classify it as social engineering, personally.

      --
      When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
    8. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      it won't be long before someone gets shot by police over it, or police shot by home owners

      If police get shot by homeowners, it won't be long before someone gets shot by the police over it.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    9. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      The first "online murder" happened the day they put weapons on a drone

      Wrong, it's way older than that.

      Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were murdered online. You're worried about the network being used against us, but hundreds of years ago, SciFi authors already went meta and had the network be used to murder a part of itself!

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    10. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by RailGunner · · Score: 2

      Not you Texas, your gun laws suck.

      As someone who lives in Texas, our gun laws are pretty good with one notable exception -- we need an Open Carry law for hand guns. Otherwise, we can own / carry just about any gun.

    11. Re: Self fulfilling prophecy by alex67500 · · Score: 1

      Be good, leave the computer alone and go back play with your toys. The Internet is a dangerous place for a 10yo

    12. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by alex4u2nv · · Score: 1

      Discounting remote controlled robotic devices like drones, robots and such, I think compromised devices like google glass, iwatch and other wearable technologies can be very dangerous, if not fatal.
      Think about driving over a bridge or 2 way traffic when random zombies start loading in google glass, or your phone transmits a virus over to your bluetooth connected car, etc. All plausible scenarios that can take place

      --
      -Alex. http://bit.ly/1iVPtfA
    13. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by matbury · · Score: 1

      Isn't it still murder if you kill someone outside of any judicial process or theatre of war? Is the US at war with Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc.? Is Israel at war with Palestine?

      "Targeted killing (also known as Selective assassination) is the premeditated killing of an individual by a state organization or institution outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...

    14. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by LessThanObvious · · Score: 1

      ...and I thought Ping-of-Death was so 90's.

    15. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by Tom · · Score: 1

      We're not talking radio-controlled. These drones use networking technology, and if their IP address is pingable from your location is not exactly the major point.

      Given that many drone victims are civilians, in a conflict that is not officially a war, the only difference left seems to be that the murderers are not civilians. That's one of the flimsiest excuses ever to call something by a different name.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    16. Re:Self fulfilling prophecy by RailGunner · · Score: 1

      No, Texas does not have an Open Carry law permitting the open carry of hand guns in public. On your property, open carry away. You can open carry a long gun (rifle, shotgun, even the "scary" AR-15) but we can't openly carry hand guns.... yet.

  2. Are they saying... by flu1d · · Score: 5, Funny

    That monitor mounted, usb powered (web) gun wasn't the best purchase?

    1. Re:Are they saying... by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      That or unless there's some kind of internet connected medical equipment that has the ability to kill you, how the fuck is this supposed to happen? I think it would be equally feasible to induce a nuclear reactor into meltdown in the same vein as how Stuxnet destroyed all of that equipment while giving false readings on the indicators.

      That is to say, not fucking likely.

      If somebody had the kind of resources to pull such a thing off, I think their victim is already in a vulnerable enough state that they could hire a hitman anonymously for a few bitcoins.

    2. Re:Are they saying... by Artifakt · · Score: 2

      The two likeliest methods, in a very general sense, are by medical device and by starting a fire. This is not including what some posters are speculating about - planting false data to trigger police SWAT raids and similar things, because that isn't really within the scope of what European Law enforcement is postulating. (and really, making a false police report by computer is not that distinct from making a false police report by other means).
              Without going into detail which might encourage someone to actually try something, you might consider the CPAP machine - a little looking at product lines and I was swiftly able to find CPAP designs that use USB networking and can at least send regular data summaries to an e-mail account, so I think it's safe to assume they are running some OS internally and at least connect through a gateway PC to the internet. A similar situation applies to some heartbeat and respiation monitors, plus some of these include Cat-5 or wireless connections, or both. Sometimes, the product descriptions for both of these devices don't mention any networking uses, and the only way to tell it has them is to look at the pictures of back panels and such to spot the various ports.
                  For some reason, people keep mentioning tampering with pacemakers, but pacemakers actually seem pretty far down the list of gadjets becoming part of the internet of things. I don't see any wireless equipped morphine pumps or similar items for sale from hospital supply sources either, but even if I haven't just missed those, some idiot will probably try to make one soon.
                I would say such a device fits your definition - "internet connected equipment that has the ability to kill". A CPAP machine isn't a terribly reliable method of killing someone, but it's certainly a possible one. I don't guarantee that any CPAP machines are running a really unsecure OS, or in particular something like Windows CE, but t's something I would watch for, and avoid using, at least unless the physician prescribing has some good reasons to want a nettable version of the machine in a particular situation.

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    3. Re:Are they saying... by Zorpheus · · Score: 2, Informative

      I don't know about other countries, but in Germany drive-by-wire is not allowed. This became law long ago because they were worried about an electronic failure, not hacking. Though hacking also is a type of electronic failure, so it is actually widely covered by that approach.

    4. Re:Are they saying... by bickerdyke · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a good idea at the first thought. But it begs the question, why it is allowed for commercial airplanes...

      --
      bickerdyke
    5. Re:Are they saying... by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      making a false police report by computer is not that distinct from making a false police report by other means

      Oh yes it is!!! -- Amazon Patent Team

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    6. Re:Are they saying... by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Nein.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    7. Re:Are they saying... by Zorpheus · · Score: 1

      Oh, I just meant the steering. Probably it is the same for brakes, also not sure about the rules for accelerator. But as long as you can disconnect the engine with the shift or clutch it can't get too bad anyway. Unless you forgot what you learned in your driving lessons.

  3. Re:easy enough by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    that sort of thing done in the age of swords, spears and bows

  4. Bash.org by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    The day is near when we can finally stab people in the face over the internet.

    1. Re:Bash.org by PPH · · Score: 1

      Slashdot moderation is finally going to be fun!

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  5. Cheap Solution by JayTech · · Score: 1

    We wouldn't need to discuss this if the medical device manufacturers stopped using consumer-grade wireless radios and protocols. But of course that would cost more money to research and develop, yada yada yada. There's a cheap solution to this problem, however. Dispense with the tinfoil hats and go for a full-blown tinfoil body wrap. Problem solved!

  6. Note to self: by Ignacio · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do NOT Internet-enable the wheeled stabbing machine I am currently working on...

    1. Re:Note to self: by complete+loony · · Score: 1

      Is that anything like this stabbing machine?

      --
      09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
  7. IOT by 4wdloop · · Score: 1

    oh..that's what it's for!

    --
    4wdloop
  8. Dear doc... by Kekke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Please use TOR when fetching My ventilator's new firmware.
    And while yer add it, pls remove the rootkit from the darn Dialysis machine. My granddaughter charged Her iPhone from it's usb port.
    My blood salts have been through the roof ever since....

    PS:
    My wheelchair threatens to ran me off cliff, if the payment isn't complete in three days.

  9. Re:easy enough by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I suppose, but today you can probably do it with skype or something of that sort.

    --
    You can't handle the truth.
  10. Bring back the WinNuke! by Cito · · Score: 2

    Give whole new meaning to the famous mid 90s exploit instantly blue screening all Windows and locking up Linux 2.0.30 and below kernels by popping port 139.

    Make it literal :-P

    1. Re:Bring back the WinNuke! by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Indeed. Linux just sets devices aflame. ;)

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    2. Re:Bring back the WinNuke! by Cito · · Score: 1

      I remember my Slackware 2.0.29 kernel would freeze in a winnuke I found that back then slack opened 139 by default for shared drives via samba

      Samba was formed as it had exact bug windows did when a fragmented packet hit 139 both OS would crash.

      I think it was 2.0.31 that fixed the problem letting those packets get ignored or something its been a long time.

      Slackware was fixed fast, but widows was vulnerable for long long time.

      Used to troll irc and winnuke channels watching all the timeouts.

      Teardrop was fun, it brought the similar bug back

      Then there was modem bugs, ctcp +++atz I think it was and it forced modems to hangup. You could also send string to hang up modem and dial a 900 number to piss off some kids parents when they got bill

  11. Re:Remotely induced sudffocation by wideglide · · Score: 1

    ... before going to ludicrous speed ...

    --
    The sum of intelligence on a planet is constant. Nowadays we have more people. When classic goes away, so do I. Copy
  12. Honestly, I doubt a cyber criminal will be first by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    My gut tells me it's going to be a 14 or 15 year old boy who does it for the yuks, and doesn't really have a grasp on what a horrible thing it is.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  13. It'll be a vehicle by chrism238 · · Score: 2

    If it's sanguine to place bets, my money's on an Internet accessible, or controlled, car killing its driver or targeting a pedestrian.

  14. More fear mongering. by seoras · · Score: 3, Interesting

    F.U.D http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt

    Anyone else getting a bit fed up with all this fear BS?
    I'm I alone in feeling like our governments are treating us like a herd of sheep using fear to herd us and control us?

    Only earlier today we had a post about giving up freedoms so we can be better protected.
    http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/10/07/0235241/brits-must-trade-digital-freedoms-for-safety-says-crime-agency-boss

    Now another article where we are again being told that a free internet is a physical threat to us and we can be murdered online. ...."found that governments are not equipped to fight the growing threat of "online murder", ..".
    The solution - give up our freedom online.

    How long until a post like this is blacked out as "unsafe".
    Who is it really unsafe for?

    1. Re:More fear mongering. by Cardoor · · Score: 1

      you are not incorrect and you are not alone.

    2. Re:More fear mongering. by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Your freedom to do what you like (on the internet or elsewhere) certainly does not extend to the freedom to murder people.

      Of course not. But thinking about the potential problems and violating a person's liberty on the basis that someone else might abuse it are two entirely different things. By all means, consider the problems—and find the solutions which preserve freedom for everyone.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
  15. cyber terrorist BS by lippydude · · Score: 1

    What a load of cyber BS ..

  16. Oh my! by ZorkZero · · Score: 1

    The framers of the constitution could not possibly have anticipated a world with such a thing as this "murder".

  17. Hackers can turn your computer into a BOMB by RuffMasterD · · Score: 1

    ... & blow your family to smithereens!

    http://i.imgur.com/0BSZXxl.jpg

    --
    Human Rights, Article 12: Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
  18. I don't care of someone murders my account by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    Who cares if someone uses the internet to murder my Facebook account? On the other hand, if it's real world murder, then it's just as much murder regardless of how it was done.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  19. Opcode for this has been around for long by pereric · · Score: 1
    CPU opcode "HCF" meaning "halt and catch fire". Could affect user.
    http://www.catb.org/jargon/htm...

    Or - of course, just including the control character "EOU" in any message sent:
    http://www.catb.org/jargon/htm...

    1. Re:Opcode for this has been around for long by bluescrn · · Score: 2

      Making a laptop/smartphone 'halt and catch fire' is potentialy a real threat. Not by overheating the CPU, but by targeting the battery charging system. Lithium-based batteries can 'explode' (burn very violently) - if mistreated - e.g. overcharged. If the battery charging system has elements of firmware control, that might be a real risk?

  20. Mod parent up by Prune · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ah, a deliciously nerdy reference to the famous IRC quote, one of the top-rated ones on the quote database:

    <Zybl0re> get up
    <Zybl0re> get on up
    <Zybl0re>get up
    <Zybl0re>get on up
    <phxl|paper>and DANCE
    * nmp3bot dances :D-<
    * nmp3bot dances :D|-<
    * nmp3bot dances :D/-<
    <[SA]HatfulOfHollow>i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

    --
    "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
  21. No, lying headline by pjt33 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The first link in the summary is to a news report with the headline "First online murder to happen by the end of 2014, warns Europol". When you read the story, what it actually claims is

    The study, which was published last week, analysed the possible physical dangers linked to cyber criminality and found that a rise in ‘injury and possible deaths’ could be expected as computer hackers launch attacks on critical connected equipment.

    The assessment particularly referred to a report by IID, a US security firm, which forecast that the world’s first murder via a ‘hacked internet-connected device’ would happen by the end of 2014.

    And the reference that it mentions is right here and says

    With more objects being connected to the Internet and the creation of new types of critical infrastructure, we can expect to see (more) targeted attacks on existing and emerging infrastructures, including new forms of blackmailing and extortion schemes (e.g. ransomware for smart cars or smart homes), data theft, physical injury and possible death [188], and new types of botnets.

    No mention of 2014. No assertion that it will happen: just that it might.

    TL;DR: Europol isn't predicting an online murder in 2014. That's just a subeditor who either didn't understand the plain English of the reporter or who chose to outright lie when writing the headline in order to sensationalise it.

    1. Re:No, lying headline by Beamboom · · Score: 2

      Please /., gimme a handful of points to share. I need to throw some at this guy. More often than not, what's found behind a fantastic headlines are usually so much more sober that it becomes almost the opposite of what the headliner claims.

    2. Re:No, lying headline by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 1

      I think it's fairly safe to say that the majority of headlines these days are sensationalised.

    3. Re:No, lying headline by Whibla · · Score: 4, Informative

      Informative? Not so much...

      If you're going to go to all the effort to read the article, you might like to spend the extra 3 seconds to follow the linked reference (quoted in your post as [188]).

      IID ... today issued a midterm report on its cybersecurity predictions for 2014, revealing we are on our way to seeing many of these prognostications become a reality. Last year at this time, IID boldly envisioned that by the end of 2014:

        We will witness the first ever public case of murder via hacked Internet-connected device.

      The article goes on to say:

      There has yet to be a proven case of murder via Internet. However, former Vice President Dick Cheney revealed in October 2013 that he underwent surgery to turn off the wireless function on his pacemaker, to prevent it from being hacked.

      You end with:

      TL;DR: Europol isn't predicting an online murder in 2014. That's just a subeditor who either didn't understand the plain English of the reporter or who chose to outright lie when writing the headline in order to sensationalise it.

      A headline has to be short, and unfortunately in that shortening some information is lost. Sure, it would have been more accurate to say "Europol reports that a security firm predicts the first online murder by the end of this year", but removing the bolded part strikes me as an acceptable precis of (that small section of) the article. Complaining that editors sensationalise headlines in order to encourage people to read the full article is akin to complaining that advertisements are designed solely to get you to buy a product. Well, duh!

      As for lying, you're as guilty as a lie by ommission as they are of any lie by commission.

    4. Re:No, lying headline by BringsApples · · Score: 1

      I think it's fairly safe to say that anyone reading slashdot is looking for sensationalism.

      --
      Politics; n. : A religion whereby man is god.
    5. Re:No, lying headline by pjt33 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I quoted the part of the article where the reporter states that the security firm made that forecast. But as often happens, the headline makes claims which don't match either the truth or the body of the article. It's far from unknown for reporters or opinion writers to get a nasty shock when they see the headline which the subeditor chose to put on their copy.

      If the issue were the length of the headline, a 20% saving could be made and the accuracy improved by rewriting it to "Online attacks could lead to deaths, warns Europol".

    6. Re:No, lying headline by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      I find it very likely that the first online murder has already occurred. Although it may have been ruled manslaughter. Someone has probably hacked a hospital or a pacemaker or something and gotten somebody killed.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  22. Hackers can turn your home computer into a BOMB by GroeFaZ · · Score: 3, Funny

    http://i.stack.imgur.com/sgctZ...

    --
    The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
    1. Re:Hackers can turn your home computer into a BOMB by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      I was gonna say, this was being done by hackers decades ago. :-)

      --
      == Jez ==
      Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
  23. The obligatory drone comment by bluescrn · · Score: 1

    But online murders have been happening for a while, via military UAVs...

  24. Ooh! Let Me Play! by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    My guess is it's going to be C0lMu5+rd in the IRC chat-room with the FDA-Pee-Hole-Device int-range overflow exploit! How'd I do?

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  25. FUBAR by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Would smashing oneself over the head with a #@%& Comcast modem count?

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:FUBAR by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      And the worst part is that their competitors, when they have any, suck almost as much.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  26. Roomba Alert by dbarron · · Score: 1

    So is that maybe what happened when the Roomba ate my parakeet ?
    Yep, that's it...the bird was hacked!

  27. You laugh, but... by MMC+Monster · · Score: 1

    Currently there are thousands of heart pacemakers which wirelessly connect to interrogator devices that sit next to the bed every night. Those devices check the device every night and check in with the company if there's any problem.

    Is it impossible to reprogram those interrogators? The manufacturers say so. I guess we should believe them?

    --
    Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
    1. Re:You laugh, but... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure I saw this demonstrated on a documentary called "Homeland" a year or two ago, so it's definitely possible.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  28. Exactly! by SomeoneFromBelgium · · Score: 1

    That's what I tried to explain to my neighbour when my AirDrone 'inexplicably' went through his greenhouse, destroying his precious, award winning rose.

  29. Really? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Hundred of Bombs have been exploded via cellphones, is it really that more 'modern' if it's done via SIP or Skype?

  30. This was predicted ages ago. by Stu101 · · Score: 1

    I can't remember exactly which book, but the book pointed out how easy it could be.

    Ignore messing around with firmware etc. The book foretold the story that someone would be using a online take out service/delivery service and they had setup all their allergies so that any restaurant saw a red flag and to be careful what goes in the meal. Someone hacks into just-eat or whomever the provider is. The customers Peanut allergy suddenly goes away on the notes and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Instant severe incident if not death.

    I'm so glad I don't have food allergies.

       

    --
    http://www.writeitfor.us - Writing IT for the IT generation.
    1. Re:This was predicted ages ago. by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      ... and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Instant severe incident if not death.

      I'm so glad I don't have food allergies.

      Me, too, neither.

      Although if I did have a potentially deadly aversion to some foods, I would have to be without food for some time before eating a meal prepared by strangers.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:This was predicted ages ago. by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

      My plan, I would data mine you to figure out what fast food outlets you like and if you have any addictions.
      Then send you free bacon cheeseburgers, cigarettes, venti coffee that's pure espresso shots. Whatever you have trouble saying no to the most.
      It would kill you, eventually, unless you started exercising, eating right, and maybe a trip to a detox clinic.

      --
      Sig. Sig. Sputnik
    3. Re:This was predicted ages ago. by tehcyder · · Score: 2

      My plan, I would data mine you to figure out what fast food outlets you like and if you have any addictions.
      Then send you free bacon cheeseburgers, cigarettes, venti coffee that's pure espresso shots. Whatever you have trouble saying no to the most.
      It would kill you, eventually, unless you started exercising, eating right, and maybe a trip to a detox clinic.

      Can I volunteer to be your enemy?

      My death/wish-list:

      Kobe beefburgers
      That coffee that's made from cats shitting out beans, whatever it's called
      Single malt scotch
      Cuban cigars

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re:This was predicted ages ago. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I can't remember exactly which book, but the book pointed out how easy it could be.

      Ignore messing around with firmware etc. The book foretold the story that someone would be using a online take out service/delivery service and they had setup all their allergies so that any restaurant saw a red flag and to be careful what goes in the meal. Someone hacks into just-eat or whomever the provider is. The customers Peanut allergy suddenly goes away on the notes and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Instant severe incident if not death.

      I'm so glad I don't have food allergies.

      That sounds more like some sort of "perfect crime" story than a serious threat.

      I'm pretty sure that if I had a real, fatal food allergy I wouldn't be eating anything I hadn't seen prepared with my own eyes.

      I definitely wouldn't be relying on Domino's Pizza or whoever to custom bake my pizza in a separate, sterile area.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    5. Re:This was predicted ages ago. by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

      Datamining...... Ok, a dump truck load of German scheisse porn is on it's way to you now.

      --
      Sig. Sig. Sputnik
  31. Speaking of... by sootman · · Score: 2

    The book Daemon by Daniel Suarez was pretty good. Started out just the littlest bit cheesy -- someone was killed by the Internet! -- but I'm glad I stuck with it because it quickly became really good. The sequel, Freedom (TM), did nothing for me.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  32. Re:Honestly, I doubt a cyber criminal will be firs by jandersen · · Score: 1

    My gut tells me

    When my gut speaks, it's usually with low, growling voice and a terrible halitosis.

  33. Re:Think of the Children! by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    Yes, because I, for one, look forward to my children living in an untaxed, government-free future, where the only security comes from being an indentured slave to some mega-corporation run by a malevolent AI.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  34. Re:easy enough by electrofelix · · Score: 1

    If the cops knocked before hand and announced themselves then it's highly unlikely the householder would shot them thinking someone was trying to break in.

    The whole reason swatting is likely to go wrong is because of no-knock entry.

  35. Get the fuck out. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    I've got more important things to worry about.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Get the fuck out. by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      You hope you've got more important things to worry about. But when your router catches fire in the middle of the night before you were due to change your will...

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Get the fuck out. by __1200333 · · Score: 1

      the night before you were due to change your will...

      No way! It will be the night after you changed your will. To give everything to Google. Life insurance paid out by a wholly owned subsidiary of Google.

  36. Patent worthy by wiredlogic · · Score: 1

    That sounds like an innovative business method patent for assassins:

    Claim 1: Murder, using a computing device consisting of a visual display and keyboard orchestrated using the internet.

    --
    I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
  37. Re:And I predict by Sentrion · · Score: 1

    Murder is Haraam, so no true Muslim will be doing this.

  38. Glass half full by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    Technological progress continues apace.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  39. Hacker! by naris · · Score: 1

    This add a whole new meaning to the term Hacker!

  40. This has already happened ... by netsurfer912 · · Score: 1

    That is an old shoe by now. Do you remember that Journalist whose car exploded? The engine was forund several meters from his car. Although it's not offical, it's extremely likely that his car was hacked. (trying to find source)

    1. Re:This has already happened ... by netsurfer912 · · Score: 1

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

  41. It's a simple 3 step process: by MatthewCCNA · · Score: 1

    Step 1. Weaponize my "Laser" printer
    Step 2. ???
    Step 3. Online murder

    --
    "He is so stupid. And now back to the wall!" Moe Szyslak
    1. Re:It's a simple 3 step process: by fhage · · Score: 1

      Step 1. Weaponize my "Laser" printer ...

      Perhaps not as far fetched as one might expect.

      Many Google Cloud Print laser printers are constantly connected to the cloud and have a software controlled heat element with the potential to start a fire. Anyone who can access the owner's Google account could send the printer malicious commands.

      Another potential fire vector is smart devices with Li batteries. Charge a Li battery too long and it may burst into fire. Charging is typically software controlled and most people leave their smart phones and other devices plugged into a charger at night while they sleep.

      An attack could be time triggered, and a million devices might set themselves on fire at 3AM on a specific date. My own experience with the IOT suggests that security is an afterthought. It's past time we start taking these issues seriously.

  42. Achewood's take on it by coldsalmon · · Score: 1

    "FOOLS! I have invented a USB device which can collect votes from the Internet and drive a knife through your heart!"
    http://achewood.com/index.php?...

  43. Re:Someone just killed my dog, why? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1
    Because it might have been carrying ebola?

    For those who haven't read it, John Varley's "Press Enter" is what a series of internet murders could really look like. It reads like a blueprint or how-to.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  44. Mystery Writer Predicted it Years Ago by valmroberts · · Score: 1

    Have you *read* Null Pointer by Johnny Batch? You should, because it's all about an online murder that only a programmer can solve. http://www.amazon.com/Null-Poi... http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...

  45. First? by Lord+Dreamshaper · · Score: 1

    Seriously? 150+ comments and no one posts that the first "online murder" will be accompanied by a "First!!" comment when it happens?

    --
    When all of your wishes have been granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed - Marilyn Manson
  46. Rule 34 by Charlie Stross by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
    ISBN 978-0-441-02034-8

    Published 2011.

    Murder by hacking of internet-connected devices (such as an automated enema-delivering wank-bot which got loaded up with dietary additives that killed the wankee) was a major plot element.

    --
    Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"