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Hackers are making headlines these days like never
before. From video game systems to voicemail accounts, it seems like
almost every type of electronic device or information storage medium can
be hacked to either give up information or perform actions it wasn't
initially designed to do. We've gathered a handful of the weirdest hacks
out there, and the vulnerability of some of your everyday devices might
surprise you.
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Medical implants
High-tech medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps can
save lives, but hackers can actually utilize their built-in wireless
features for less helpful purposes. Researchers have demonstrated that
certain pacemakers that use a wireless signal for easy tweaking are
vulnerable to anyone with the correct reprogramming hardware. Doctors
use these wireless programming devices to make subtle adjustments to the
heart helpers without the need for further surgeries. Unfortunately, the
signal they use is unencrypted, meaning that anyone who finds a way to
obtain such a device could literally manipulate the heart of a patient,
causing cardiac arrest, or even death.
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Insulin pumps
Insulin pumps are apparently even more susceptible to outside
interference, and at the recent Black Hat hacker conference in Las
Vegas, the life-saving pumps were shown to be vulnerable from distances
of up to a half mile. Using power radio antennas, hackers can hijack a
pump's wireless signal and cause it to give a blast of insulin to a
wearer, with potentially deadly results.
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Baby monitors
Having a constant ear and eye on your baby's crib is something that most
parents take for granted. Baby monitors have been around for a long
time, and in recent years, video-equipped versions have become very
popular with new parents. What most users probably don't realize, is
that the dozen or so wireless channels that these helpful devices use
can often be picked up outside the home — giving anyone with a similar
device or wireless receiver an undetectable window into your home.
The vulnerability of such monitor systems was highlighted in 2009 when
an Illinois family sued the manufacturer of a baby monitor system they
purchased at Toys R Us. After using the system for months, a neighbor —
who had recently purchased a similar system — alerted them that their
monitor's camera was broadcasting its signal strong enough to be picked
up in the neighboring house. The camera's microphone was so sensitive
that the unsuspecting neighbors were able to hear entire conversations
happening outside of the nursery where it was placed.
Newer baby monitor models feature "frequency hopping" technology that
changes channels randomly to ensure privacy, but older, less-secure
versions can still be found on store shelves. Check the features list on
the side of the box when considering a monitor system to verify this
very the device you're purchasing includes this new technology.
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Automobiles
Breaking into cars by smashing a window or picking a lock is so 90's.
These days, security experts are worried about much more tech-savvy car
thieves who can unlock your car, or even start it, simply by shooting it
a text message or two. Many automotive systems — such as OnStar —
utilize the same type of cellular technology as a common cell phone.
Demonstrating the hack at the Black Hat convention, security experts Don
Bailey and Mathew Solnik explained how vulnerable new vehicles are to
such manipulation. Leaving out the details as to how the hack works — he
is a security consultant after all — Bailey noted that the same hack
could potentially affect infrastructure like power grids and traffic
systems. But all it not lost — with just a few changes, car makers could
close the door on hackers, though it won't be cheap.
Only vehicles with systems like OnStar are vulnerable in this way, and
older, less feature-rich cars are immune to these advanced hacking
techniques. Consider the risks when purchasing a vehicle with advanced
connectivity and know that you can opt to have these features disabled
if you think you may be vulnerable to theft.
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The human brain
Of all the storage mediums you use to keep information that is most
important to you, your brain is by far the most complex. Because of the
immense amount of data that the human brain can hold, scientists have
been attempting to crack our internal hard drives for quite some time.
The scary part? They're actually getting close.
By building complex models of other brains in the animal kingdom — such
as those of mice, cats, and primates — and then moving on to humans,
researchers have begun to translate the trillions of impulses that go on
in our heads into readable data. In fact, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding a $4.9 million program to
reverse-engineer the human brain in an effort to mine its computational
abilities.
Some scientists, including Ray Kurzweil of Kurzweil Technologies, see a
future where microscopic robots will be injected into a person's blood
stream, head straight for the brain, and monitor activity. Of course,
with the vulnerabilities of other medical implants already well
documented, we'd hate to know the consequences of someone taking control
of our brain's bots.
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