Hacker Barnaby Jack's cause of death could remain unknown for months
Nothing fishy going on here. Nothing to see. Move along.
~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ *
Hacker Barnaby Jack's cause of death could remain unknown for months
Celebrated hacker who infiltrated implanted medical devices and ATMs was found dead Thursday in San Francisco
by Amanda Holpuch * The Guardian * Monday 29 July 2013 13.42 EDT
The San Francisco medical examiner's office has said it could be several months before the cause of death for acclaimed hacker Barnaby Jack is released.
Jack, who was born in New Zealand, was famous for hacking implanted medical devices and ATMs. He was found dead in San Francisco on 25 July.
A San Francisco police department spokesperson told the Guardian Jack was found dead by "a loved one" in an apartment in the city's Nob Hill neighborhood and that no foul play was suspected.
Jack lived in San Francisco, where he worked as the director of embedded security research at security firm IOActive. The company said Jack was survived by his mother and sister in New Zealand and his girlfriend in California.
"This is an extremely sad time for us all at IOActive, and the many people in our industry that Barnaby touched in so many ways with both his work and vibrant personality," IOActive CEO Jennifer Steffens said in a statement. "But as a personal friend of Barnaby's for many years I know he'd want sadness to quickly turn to celebration of his life, work and the tremendous contributions he's made spanning well beyond his widely acclaimed professional accomplishments."
She said the company will continue working with the industry to "ensure the advancements Barnaby started in this field will continue saving lives for years to come".
Jack became well-known in 2010 after hacking an ATM so it would spit out money at the Black Hat hacking convention in Las Vegas. He received further acclaim last year by showing how an insulin pump is vulnerable to a hack that would allow a hacker to dispense a fatal dosage of insulin from 300ft away.
He was due to present his latest research on hacking implanted medical devices at this year's Black Hat convention on Thursday. Jack was set to show how he could hack into pacemakers and implanted defibrillators from 30ft away. That slot is now being used as a time 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," said Black Hat in a statement.
During presentations on implanted medical device hacks, Jack obscured some details to prevent people from replicating the attacks. His work also moved several companies to examine the security of their devices.
A fund created in his honor has collected nearly $11,000 and the donations will be used according to the wishes of his family.
San Francisco police said that it responded to a deceased person call at 7.41pm on 25 July. The police did not suspect foul play, so the case was handed over to the city's medical examiners office.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jul/29/barnaby-jack-hacker-cause-of-death
= new reply since forum marked as read
