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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25598791

I'll be honest, a guy who was supposed to give a demonstration at the Black Hat convention about how to kill people by hacking their pacemakers and insulin pumps suddenly turning up dead in his hotel room stuffed with heroin, cocaine, prescription meds and apparently a truly sizable amount of alcohol makes me a tad suspicious that this might not be an accident.

I'm going to be callous here and say that he was no great loss to society. Just my opinion.

No, probably not, but one thing about exposing stuff like this is that it forces companies to do something about it.

Why do all my heroes die prematurely?

 Dark Apostle 666 wrote:
I'm going to be callous here and say that he was no great loss to society. Just my opinion.

If you don't expose these things, corporations never fix them. Most (admittedly not all) security researchers notify the corporation responsible and then talk about it afterward, giving the corporation time to fix it and at the same time, giving them a reason to see to it that they actually follow through with it. It is a Good Thing.

Food for thought: If no one ever exposed these things, do you think no one would discover them?

 BaronIveagh wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25598791

I'll be honest, a guy who was supposed to give a demonstration at the Black Hat convention about how to kill people by hacking their pacemakers and insulin pumps suddenly turning up dead in his hotel room stuffed with heroin, cocaine, prescription meds and apparently a truly sizable amount of alcohol makes me a tad suspicious that this might not be an accident.

Agreed. Reminds me of that dissident guy in the 1970s (name escapes me) who was found drowned...on dry land!

Hacking pacemakers and insulin pumps? Sounds like a classy guy.

My cousin is a proffesional hacker. He goes through websites, finds ways in and then tells the company about it making alot of money.
And as scary as it may sound, "Black Hat" is a conferance that also include corporations. it is possible that this guy was giving the speech to people who make this stuff, so they can fix it

Suspicious? I think so.

How can it be suspicious if you don't know him or his lifestyle?

A) You don't know if he had a drug problem.

B) He WAS in Vegas.

You're just jumping to conclusions to fit a narrative. It's like seeing a van and saying it's either CIA or serial killers.

If there is a flower van, It often is the CIA.......either that or a Taco Truck

 Medium of Death wrote:
Hacking pacemakers and insulin pumps? Sounds like a classy guy.

Actually, yes. I'd rather have people like him around.

from the article wrote:

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Frankly, this just seems like sloppy work. its quite obviously a hit and that's really a big no-no if you're trying to make it appear accidental.

And really? Heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs, AND alcohol??? You're trying too hard.

You'd have to be ridiculously stupid to do all of those at once.

Was there any evidence that he was even with someone at the time he did the drugs? I could see something like that accidentally happening at a party, but not something that could reasonably happen to someone when they're alone.

Many people do speedballs (heroin and coke) and drink at the same time. It's what made Megadeth great.

 Fafnir wrote:
You'd have to be ridiculously stupid to do all of those at once.

Was there any evidence that he was even with someone at the time he did the drugs? I could see something like that accidentally happening at a party, but not something that could reasonably happen to someone when they're alone.

When you're drunk, the idea of doing coke really doesn't seem all that bad. When you're drunk, and on coke, the idea of doing Heroin really doesn't even cross your mind as dangerous. At that point, if you haven't had a seizure or convulsions, you're probably going to end up doing something else awful. Alcohol is the worst gateway substance.

How could you hack a pacemaker? Are they bluetooth now? Very sad. Seems like real hackers are actually becoming something of a rarity. The conditions that created a whole generation of people who had talents with this sort of thing don't really exist anymore. I think you would have to have a very long-term understanding of vulnerabilities to be good at it.

Probably have some wireless way to monitor it, thus opening a door through which data can flow automatically opening up weakness as a side effect.

As clear-cut a case of murder as I've ever seen. People don't just overdose in Vegas on their own.

 Seaward wrote:
As clear-cut a case of murder as I've ever seen. People don't just overdose in Vegas on their own.

They probably got into his room from the black helicopters

No one ever suspects those black helicopters.

 n0t_u wrote:
No one ever suspects those black helicopters.

They probably fly white ones, just because everybody is watching out for the black kind.

You guys are wrong - nobody suspects the girl scout selling cookies!

Then why is she on the no fly list?

 Grey Templar wrote:
Frankly, this just seems like sloppy work. its quite obviously a hit and that's really a big no-no if you're trying to make it appear accidental.

And really? Heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs, AND alcohol??? You're trying too hard.

Not only that but he put all the empty bottles in the bin before dying. Convenient.

 Palindrome wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Frankly, this just seems like sloppy work. its quite obviously a hit and that's really a big no-no if you're trying to make it appear accidental.

And really? Heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs, AND alcohol??? You're trying too hard.

Not only that but he put all the empty bottles in the bin before dying. Convenient.

The ingredients of his drug cocktail kick in at different times and some substances can hide the (side) effects of others for some time. I imagine it's not that hard to overdose in those situations and he's probably not the first to go in this manner.

As for his hacking activities, it's good that there are people who uncover these security holes in sensitive and important devices (with sloppily written software). It might save lives in the long run.

 n0t_u wrote:
Probably have some wireless way to monitor it, thus opening a door through which data can flow automatically opening up weakness as a side effect.

Not just monitoring, but you occasionally have to revisit their calibration. In the old days, reopening people back up was the way to do that. Having a device that can be wirelessly recalibrated is less expensive/risky than surgery. It's probably not bluetooth, but some similar radio frequency. I'm picturing something like a more complicated version of the wireless protocol your key fob uses to remotely open and close your car doors and start your engine.

This was not exactly a man without enemies. His 2012 testimony led to the FDA changing the regulations for wireless medical implants.

According to the examiner's report, the cocktail was beer, champagne, heroin, cocaine, Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) and Alprazolam (aka Xanax).


While I can't say for sure or not this was a hit (though the timing was very very convenient) Benadryl mixed with very pure heroin is a very good way to set someone up to OD. That's why 'Cheese' can have such a low heroin content (2%-8%) and still kill you. My money is somebody gave this guy 'Cheese' made with Xanax instead of acetaminophen. He was known to use coke and drink.

If it was a hit (his gf found him the next day) here's how i see it. This guy was known to party with other conference goers. Somebody goes along with him back to the apartment, and if he's not drunk already gets him smashed, does a few lines of coke with him and then offers him the gak. Game over.

You guys have got it all wrong and pointing the finger at the wrong people......this is clearly the work of the Spanish Inquisition I mean who would expect that?

Nobody.