DIY microchippers make implants a hobby

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"We've shown that we can actually transmit a computer virus to the chip and use that to infect the security access database in our laboratory."

It could also work the other way around, with a virus in a data system being transmitted to the wearer of an implant.

Gasson says this raises serious issues, especially with regard to implantable medical devices on which peoples' lives may depend.

clipped from tvnz.co.nz Graafstra implanted himself with two radio-frequency identification tags (RFIDs), similar to the sort of chips used in cats and dogs, five years ago. His family doctor used a pet injector to insert the second one in his right hand later that year. The chips help him do things like open the door to his home, log onto his computer and start his motorbike. "I have the skill to be able to utilise this technology in my daily life," he says. "All I've done is move the RFID tag from my wallet, or my pants pocket, to a skin pocket." Several Australians are among those to have embraced the technology, he says. Gasson, also in Australia for the conference, had an RFID-based implant put in his hand about a year ago, originally for access to his UK-based lab and mobile phone. Later, as an experiment, he deliberately infected the chip with a virus and found he was able to pass the infection on to the laboratory's security system.

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