British scientist becomes first human 'infected' with computer virus

British scientist becomes first human 'infected' with computer virus

BEIJING: A young British scientist stakes a claim to being the first human infected with a computer virus after he contaminated an electronic RFID chip implanted in his hand, reported China’s Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

Dr. Mark Gasson from the University of Reading, truly is the first human carrying a computer virus inside his body.

However he, the human carrier, might no actually be “infected” the chip he has embedded in his hand surely is.

Dr. Gasson implanted a chip into his hand that gives him access to lab facilities without needing a key or magnetic card, and allows him to be the only person who can access his mobile phone while it is locked to all others.

But he went so far as to infect that chip with a virus, wanting to test whether or not it will be possible to infect other chips in the system with a proverbial slight of hand.

The results shows he succeeded to infect his PC, that the virus in the chip in his hand was able to migrate to the desktop computer.

On why someone would want to do that, Dr Gasson’s reasons is the awareness that more and more people have chip-based electronic parts in their bodies - a pacemaker for example - and that we will have to learn all we can about how such vital instruments may be impacted by other electronic devices.

“This type of technology has been commercialised in the United States as a type of medical alert bracelet, so that if you’re found unconscious you can be scanned and your medical history brought up.”

Also, he thinks that implanted chips, like we now use them for dogs and cats, will most likely find their way into the human body in one way or another.

However, concerns raised by Dr Gasson worries Professor Rafael Capurro of the Steinbeis-Transfer-Institute of Information Ethics in Germany, who said: “If someone can get online access to your implant, it could be serious.”

Supporting his claim, Professor Capurro contributed to a 2005 ethical study for the European Commission that looked at the development of digital implants and possible abuse of them.

“From an ethical point of view, the surveillance of implants can be both positive and negative. Surveillance can be part of medical care, but if someone wants to do harm to you, it could be a problem.”

In the future, Dr Gasson scientist said there is the distinct possibility that in a security obssessed world, chip implants may make passports and credit cards obsolete in the future. -- Bernama

British scientist becomes first human 'infected' with computer virus