![\"computer-virus\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.discovermagazine.com\/discoblog\/files\/2010\/05\/computer-virus1.gif\" "\\"computer-virus\\"")
Mark Gasson, at the University of Reading, just caught something. A computer virus. Gasson claims to be the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus.<\/p>\nMark Gasson, at the University of Reading, just caught something. A computer virus. Gasson claims to be the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus.<\/p>\n
But by \u201ccaught,\u201d we mean he gave the virus to himself, and by \u201cvirus,\u201d we mean a program that he designed.<\/p>\n
Gasson put the virus in an RFID tag<\/a> that was then implanted in Gasson\u2019s hand. The tag\u2014like the microchips used to track down missing dogs and cats\u2014had allowed Gasson to open security doors and unlock his cell phone automatically. When infected, the tag spread its virus to other devices, for example, that door-opening system. If other people then used their own hand tags to open the door they could, hypothetically, also catch the virus.<\/p>\n <\/span>As the BBC reports<\/a> , the test was meant as a \u201cproof of principle.\u201d Gasson wonders, given the increasing use of implanted technologies like pacemakers, if such infections could threaten our cybernetic futures.<\/p>\n But did Gasson really transmit a virus? Couldn\u2019t we as accurately call his test a novel way to share data? Instead of \u201cscientist infected with computer virus,\u201d couldn\u2019t we call him a cyborg bee, pollinating computer flowers? He picked up something and spread it around, in a system he designed for spreading. Instead of a virus meant to cause harm, perhaps we could call it a helpful program… meant to create, well, publicity.<\/p>\n The Register<\/em> compares the virus to a similar experiment by Kevin Warwick<\/a>, a self-proclaimed cyborg who implanted an RFID tag in his arm. From the Register<\/em> article<\/a>, an interview with Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at the security software company Sophos:<\/p>\n \u201cThe way they are presenting their research is scaremongering nonsense that doesn’t present the true nature of this, frankly, non-threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Related content: Image: flickr \/ VanessaO<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Mark Gasson, at the University of Reading, just caught something. A computer virus. Gasson claims to be the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus. But by \u201ccaught,\u201d we mean he gave the virus to himself, and by \u201cvirus,\u201d we mean a program that he designed. Gasson put the virus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":641,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-579719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579719\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n80beats: Mystery of the Conficker Worm Continues: Does It Want to Scam or Spam?<\/a>
\n80beats: Computer Virus Travels Into Orbit, Lands on the Space Station<\/a>
\n80beats: Sorry, Australian iPhone Users: You\u2019ve Been Rickrolled<\/a>
\nDISCOVER: Iris ID <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
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