Hacker Dies Days Before Speaking About Security Flaws In Medical Implants

Barnaby Jack is well-known in many hacking circles, not for knocking off companies or stealing information but for exposing major vulnerabilities in ATM machines and medical devices, unfortunately it has been reported that he died last Thursday while in San Francisco, just days before he was scheduled to speak on deadly security shortcomings in medical implants at next week’s Black Hat security conference.

35 year old Jack was director of embedded device security at IOActive, a security firm that specializes in industrial, supply chain and medical device security. IOActive had no immediate comment on Jack’s death. In a statement issued Friday morning, Black Hat organizers expressed regret at Jack’s sudden passing although the cause of his death has so far been unreported.

“Everyone would agree that the life and work of Barnaby Jack are legendary and irreplaceable,” show organizers said. “Barnaby had the ability to take complex technology and intricate research and make it tangible and accessible for everyone to learn and grow from.”

The statement went on to add that Black Hat will leave the time slot for Jack’s speech vacant to commemorate his life and work. “Barnaby Jack meant so much to so many people, and we hope this forum will offer an opportunity for us all to recognize the legacy that he leaves behind,” the statement noted.

Jack was a former security researcher at McAfee and Juniper, best known for a demonstration that allowed him to jackpot ATM machines (fixed now of course), he also demonstrated how modern pacemakers and other similar devices could be exploited to give lethal shocks, scary stuff.

Jack was scheduled to speak on “Implantable Medical Devices: Hacking Humans” at next week’s conference in Las Vegas. The talk was expected to highlight how, common bedside transmitters could be used to search for, interrogate and exploit individual medical implants from up to 300 feet away.

Thank you Computer World for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Guardian.