IPFS News Link • Hacking, Cyber Security
5 Ways Hackers Could Kill You Right Now
• Kelsey D. Atherton via PopSci.comwikimedia commons
The hack
Pacemaker-hacking feels like a Hollywood plot. Assassinate someone by
taking over the medical device that controls his heart? Surely that
isn't possible in the real world.
Actually, it's totally possible. Last year, a researcher demonstrated a pacemaker hack in Australia, with a virus that could conceivably spread from one person to every electronically assisted heart within 30 feet.
The threat level
Probably limited to assassination targets. Think: high-profile people,
who have pacemakers. It would be an elaborate attack, though, since you
need more than just an internet connection to pull it off. Odds are that
anyone interested in doing this could get a bomb or a pistol to the
target cheaper and faster. This is Hollywood not because it's
impossible, but because it's not very efficient.