Drug overdose caused death of hacker

Barnaby Jack discusses the ramifications of his ATM hack on the first day of Black Hat 2010.

(Credit:Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Overdosing on drugs caused the death of hacker Barnaby Jack, said the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office on Friday.

The 36-year-old Jack died only days before he was to give a demonstration of how to hack defibrillators and pacemakers at the annual security and hacker conference Black Hat last summer. He was scheduled to show how to force a pacemaker to deliver a lethal electric jolt by remote.

Known for hacking medical devices such as insulin pumps and pacemakers, Jack caused a media sensation when he showed live onstage how to "jackpot" an ATM, forcing it to shoot a spray of cash onto the stage.

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The medical report, obtained by The Verge, noted that there was "evidence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use" surrounding the body.

He was found by his girlfriend, and mourned by the hacker and security community the following week at Black Hat.

Topics: Security Tags: Black Hat, Barnaby Jack, hacker, DefCon

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