Ethical hacker Barnaby Jack died before he could publicly demonstrate how to hack pacemakers. He had planned to show the vulnerability at a security conference, sparking conspiracy theories about his death. Experts debate whether the hack was real and how serious the security risk actually is.
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Hacker death mystery.
He said anything could be hacked, even a pacemaker. There's big concern that hackers could get into this.
But days before his big announcement, he's found dead. Hello everybody, and thanks for joining us. Are pacemakers hackable? Conspiracy theorists are having a heyday over the death of a computer hacker who was about to give a speech on just such a thing. Is it even possible? Is it possible? We sent Les Trent looking for answers.
His pacemaker can be wirelessly accessed with that number. In the hit drama Homeland, a terrorist kills the vice president by hacking into his pacemaker, causing a fatal heart attack.
I'm killing you.
But that plotline may not be far-fetched. Professional hacker Barnaby Jack said it's possible, and he was set to reveal how at a Las Vegas hacking convention. But in a shocking twist, just a week before the convention, The 35-year-old hacking expert was found dead by his girlfriend in his San Francisco home. As the medical examiner investigates the cause of death, police say they don't suspect foul play, but the internet has lit up with conspiracy theories like these: The CIA didn't want the competition. It does make me wonder if he was killed, that the CIA and other government agencies don't want this flaw to be solved. Barnaby Jack has been called the ethical hacker and exposed computer vulnerabilities to help corporations. At a 2010 Las Vegas convention, he wowed the crowd when he showed he could hack into ATMs and cause them to literally spit out money.
As a consumer, we should all be aware that anything that is wireless or anything connected to the internet in some way, shape, or form can in fact be hacked.
At this year's convention, he was ready to shock the world with his pacemaker demonstration. But is it really possible? Dr.
Richard Besser is ABC News chief medical editor and the author of the book Tell Me the Truth, Doctor, at this point there's no evidence that anyone has ever had harm or died from someone hacking into a pacemaker, but it's a real concern that it could happen.
Even though the risk is low, the Food and Drug Administration is asking manufacturers to beef up security after researchers reported password vulnerability affecting 300 types of medical devices. The FDA issued this statement: The FDA is not aware of any patient injuries or deaths associated with these incidents, nor do we have any indication that Any specific devices or systems in clinical use have been purposely targeted at this time.
Hacking in all areas of our life is getting more and more sophisticated, so this is an area where it's so important they put in controls so it doesn't happen.
