Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Neurosecurity Concerns In Neural Implant Tech
Neural implants are now becoming more important in medical research. Devices like the iPlant to program your own brain and the neural implant for communication raise interesting possibilities to help people. However, a recent paper details some of the consequences of having an electronic device implanted below the surface of your conscious mind.
In their paper, Neurosecurity: security and privacy for neural devices, Tamara Denning, B.S., Yoky Matsuoka, Ph.D., anD Tadayoshi Kohno, Ph.D. of the University of Washington, present their case for special safeguards in electronic brain implants.
Security vulnerabilities have already been discovered; in 2003, a hacker demonstrated that cardiac defibrillators could be compromised wirelessly.
The authors present a number of scenarios that are realistic depictions of what might happen with technologies being developed today. Malicious persons might interfere with life-saving implanted technologies or prosthetic devices; individuals might even be tempted to reprogram or otherwise tweak their own devices.
Furthermore, the consequence of
a breach in neurosecurity—where human health and free
will are at stake—is very different from a breach in com-
puter security, where the victim is a computer on a desk.
Due to the elegant yet little-understood plasticity of the
neural system, changes made by hackers could have ir- reversible effects on human performance and cognition.
In his newly published novel WWW: Wake, sf author Robert J. Sawyer tells the story of Caitlin Decter, a blind teenager who participates in the Internet with the use of assistive devices.
When she gets the opportunity to have a special implant that might, with the help of a small external computer, help her to see, she jumps at it. However, her device (cleverly called an "eyePod") is "hacked" by an unexpected entity. She develops "websight":
Science fiction readers have no trouble imagining (with the help of our favorite authors) the kinds of mischief that malicious persons could get into by hacking brain implants or the devices that service them. I'm sure readers could think of other examples.
Read more in Neurosecurity: security and privacy for neural devices (pdf) and Wired; thanks to Moira for the tip on this story.
Neurosecurity will probably face technical challenges that are dramatically different from those of traditional computer security applications. It is easy to ask a
computer user to make security decisions in response to
pop-up windows; in contrast, it would be difficult to ask
the users of neural devices to make rapid meta-decisions
about their own brains.
Although each part of the Web she was was unique, it all followed the same general pattern: colored lines representing links, glowing circles of various sizes and brightness indicating websites...
(Read more about Sawyer's websight)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/1/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
'He carried on his person a triggering mechanism sensitive to his heartbeat.' - Philip K. Dick, 1965.
ErythroMer Artificial Blood
'My chemists are all working on the preparation of the artificial blood.' - Dr. David H. Keller, M.D.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'
Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!
Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...'
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
