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(Image source: The National / Ravindranath K)
BY JAMAL ANDRESS
The Hacker community is mourning the loss of one of its brightest. Barnaby Jack died
Thursday morning at the age of 36. The San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office did not
provide details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
Barnaby was known for hacking into small devices and exposing their security vulnerabilities.
He was beloved by many in the hacking community. (Via PC Magazine)
Barnaby claimed international fame during a hacking conference dubbed the Black Hat
convention, where in a presentation he hacked an ATM, forcing it to continuously spit out
bills. (Via YouTube / SecurityWeek)
He called this attack "Jackpotting." And at this year's Black Hat convention — just
a week away — Jack was prepared to give another monumental presentation, this time
about the security of wireless medical devices.
The Guardian reports last year "Jack had exposed a security flaw in insulin pumps that could
be made to dispense a fatal dose by a hacker 300ft away."
This year's presentation was slated to discuss "a new vulnerability in wireless pacemakers
and defibrillators." Jack reported both flaws to the FDA, pushing some medical companies
to review the security of the devices. (Via Black Hat)
In an interview with BBC, Jack talked about his work with medical devices, saying: "My
purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this. ... Hopefully it will promote some
change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."
News of Jack's death has spread throughout the Twittersphere with friends of his expressing
their love. Jack's wife expressed her gratitude for all the well wishes, saying:
"So humbled by the social media flood of people that loved @barnaby_jack. thank you all so
much for your kind words." (Via Twitter / @Amberleigh_Jack)
The Black Hat convention will not replace Jack's presentation but will instead leave
the time open to commemorate his life and work.