As if humans didn't have enough viruses to worry about, one British resercher has successfully infected himself with a computer virus.
Mark Gasson, senior research fellow at the University of Reading, was able to infect a tiny, radio frequency identification, RFID, chip with a virus before he placed it under the skin on his hand. He uses that chip to activate his cell phone, as well as open secure doors. Thanks to the computer chip, his cell phone knows when he's using it, and when someone esle is trying to operate the device. If someone else tries to use his phone (after, say, stealing it), that person is not able to use it. Only Gasson ca.
And instead of him swiping an ID card to enter his building, he just needs to wave his hand to gain entrance. The convenience of not taking out his ID and the safety of his phone come with a price, however.
He served as carrier, and was able to pass the virus on to an external computer. The virus was of Gasson's own design and was not malicious. But he was able to show that computer viruses can move seamlessly and outside the body. And theoretically, if a person has several computers in his or her body, a compter virus could spread from one to another infecting them all.
The kind of computer chip that Gasson installed in his body is not in wide use, so no need to worry as of yet. In face, you have more reason to worry about bed bugs than computer bugs. But in the future, computers will get under our skin, and people will have to take precaution to spread digital infections.
Source: TheNews
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