5 August 2024

The human body is the next cyber battlefield — and I’m living proof

Len Noe

Espionage and cyberwar activities are increasingly conducted remotely, via phishing, spyware, software supply chain attacks, malware attacks on electric grids and nuclear plants, and drones. But in the future, we can expect to see threat actors turn to technology that puts the attack power into their own hands — literally.

We’re entering the age of bio-hacking, also called body hacking or human augmentation, to distinguish it from other types of biological experimentation like DNA hacking. In the context of cybersecurity, bio-hacking enables the creation of new stealthy attack capabilities by using chip implants inside bodies and wireless technologies to conduct spying and cyberattacks that today are done over the internet.

This isn’t science-fiction or just another “Terminator” reference. Research into using bodies as spying devices and weapons is happening right now. I should know, because I’m a Walking Zero Day cyber exploit.

I’m a transhumanist, which means I am using technology to expand my capabilities beyond those I was born with. In this case, I’m hacking my body for security research, to see how easily I can conduct certain types of attacks using chips in my body and wireless technology instead of the internet.

I have implanted nine microchips and one magnet in my hand and fingers over the past five years. In numerous demonstrations, I’ve showcased the ability to wirelessly download malware onto an Android (Apple’s security protections block this attack). In another type of attack, I’ve proven I can skim a badge and then write the data directly to my implant in order to enter restricted areas. The chips in my hand communicate to the devices via Near Field Communication (NFC) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wireless protocols. Military IDs, for example, have embedded chips that use RFID.

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